An Introduction to Basic English Grammar

Basic English Grammar

The grammar sections are not only to compensate the lessons taught online at Bridgette’s Writing School but are also a guide for English learners everywhere. The need to revise English grammar was borne out of a two-year long project during which I assisted speakers of other beautiful languages improve their proficiency in English in order to write better stories and poems or take the International English Language Tests Systems/IELTS Academic, Basic Life Skills or General Training Tests.

I became familiar with which aspects of grammar students struggle with the most, such as the third person Subject-Verb agreement in present tenses.

Module One-
Word Classes,
Grammatical Terminologies

Different types of nouns –

Proper nouns

Collective nouns

Common nouns

Abstract nouns

Concrete nouns

Pronouns replace nouns so the writer doesn't have to repeat words unnecessarily.

How about CONCRETE nouns? Anything that you can perceive, see, taste, smell or touch or can use one of your senses to feel/react to is concrete, you remember that don’t you?

Examples

Ibrahim’s EAR must be ringing as I use him in all my examples.

My EYE caught the flower shop sign that said “purple hues” is a line from my poem: An African Mimosa.

The TABLE was carved out of Oak from Greenbelt.

ABSTRACT nouns are the bane of most people’s life and are words which name your

Feeling

Thought

visualisation

Abstract nouns are intangible ideas that we can’t touch or hold.

Examples

1. THINKING about food always made Sheku Koroma ravenous. (Thinking is the name of a state of mind so a noun)

2. LOVING you takes its toll on my emotions.

3. My PERCEPTION of the author changed following his unreasonable demands for money.

Word Classes

Word classes, also known as parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions, and interjections.

Nouns

Nouns are words which name and define people, places, ideas, and concepts et cetera. They are associated with pronouns which replace nouns.

1. Nouns: are naming words. Proper nouns are your given names, names of countries, cities et cetera. Common nouns are ones that name items and can refer to any person, place, or thing. Collective nouns are groups and can be singular or plural. Concrete nouns are solid material or molecular Objects while abstract nouns are intangible things such as ideas or concepts.

Examples

President = common noun as it could mean any leader

Timothy = proper noun’s capitalised

A jury = collective noun

Imagination = abstract noun

Table = concrete noun

Sentence:

President Timothy ordered the jury to sit around the discussion table and use their imagination to free the defendant.

Noun Phrases

A Noun phrase cannot be defined without first saying what a NOUN is. A noun gives a name to an individual, place, or Object.

You’re familiar with PROPER nouns, right? Timothy is a person’s name and is proper noun. Can you list some common and abstract nouns? How many categories/types can you identify?

We’re going to be talking about SUBJECT & VERB agreement. We’ve defined Subjects yesterday as comprising of nouns or pronouns. Generally speaking, the Subject is the first part of the sentence. The predicate will contain the verb/s which are action words. Your Subject/s should conform with your verb/s tenses and form.

Let us look at particles as Adjectives that is to say particles modifying or describing nouns or pronouns.

Examples:

3. The man hit by a vehicle was Pa Musa. (verb to hit).

4. The diamond stolen was the largest mined in Kono. (verb to steal).

5. The stolen diamond was the largest mined in Kono. (Variable position; does not always work semantically).

6. An opportunity missed may never be regained. (verb to miss).

Collective nouns

These are generally plural in British usage with the exception being when the focus is on a singular individual. However, some groups of nouns are always singular here. Confusing much?

Examples: Jury, Team, Police

The judge in the murder trial asked the jury if they had reached a unanimous verdict.

(Plural as referring to individual members)

The jury has been chosen.(Singular unit)

The Met Police is the best force in the world.

(Inferred reference is an organisation)

The Met Police are out in force today quelling any protests.

(Reference to individual police officers)

A noun gives a name to an individual, place, or Object.

You’re familiar with PROPER nouns, right? Mary Miggins is a person’s name and is proper noun. Can you list some common and abstract nouns? How many categories/types can you identify?

Examples-

My COUNTRY of birth is Greenbelt (country is a common name and nonspecific common noun)

A GROUP of boys were leering at Aminata with wolf whistles.

Singular and plural nouns-

Regular plural - s or -es; plurals with irregular suffixes and foreign plurals.

Regular plural - idea - ideas, bus -buses

With a change of vowel- foot -feet
With a modification of the base final vowel- body -bodies
With a change or doubling of the base-final consonant- knife- knives; life-lives; quiz -quizzes.
Singular is the same as the plural: aircraft- aircraft; deer -deer; sheep -sheep.
Plurals without formal marking- cattle, people, police- The police ARE…
Plurals with irregular suffixes- child- children; ox -oxen.
Foreign plurals- alumnus- alumni; antenna -antennae/antennas; criterion- criteria; tableau -tableaux.

Noun phrases are a group of words, headed by a noun, that give more details about a noun or PRONOUN. Pronouns substitute nouns.

Examples -

1. Obasanjo said he was an award-winning Poet.

2. Ulemu said she wasn’t one only published extensively in the UK.

Noun phrases containing nouns or pronouns may be the Subject (main part) or Object (the part that receives the action) of a sentence.

Noun phrases generally contain more descriptions and as a writer you can’t avoid them if your story is to help the reader picture what you’re saying.

Collective and Uncountable Nouns

+ Plural

With collective or uncountable nouns, the plural forms are often tricky.

E. G. Fish and chips - we say, "Can I have some fish and chips please?" [Some]

Team

Team is a collective noun. In British usage it mostly takes the plural form-

1. Babatunji's team are on a winning streak [Are]

2. Hampshire FC are advertising for a new manager (The football team are running an advertisement...]

3. Chelsea are playing well this season [Thinking of each player]

4. My favourite premier league football team is Chelsea. {Referring to the team as a unit]

I have several items of furniture in my living room,

Mary diced up several pieces of fruits to make a fruit salad.

Working with Adjectives and Adverbs

A tried and tested way to expand your vocabulary and write better is by learning adjectives and adverbs.

Some adjectives can be changed to an adverb by adding LY.

Adjectives describe or modify nouns and pronouns.

Adverbs on the contrary, modify, qualify, or quantify verbs.

Examples:

1. Pa Babangida was an abhorrent old man (adjective)

2. Pa Ali swore at Brima abhorrently (adverb)

Adjectives may be placed before a noun or pronoun as a single word or in an adjectival phrase as a premodifier.

Example –

3. Ghulam sleeps on a (big, soft, cuddly) pillow

[all the words in brackets are adjectives that precede the noun pillow].

After the noun/pronoun as a postmodifier

Example -

4. Ghulam’s pillow was big, soft, and cuddly.

Adjective phrase

Example-

5. Babatunji ate homegrown and succulent Cassava leaves at the Kiosk.

[homegrown and succulent is a pre-modifying adjectival phrase.]

Changing adjectives to adverbs-

6. Efua is a bashful young lady (Adjective)

7. Efua smiled at Ayomide bashfully. (Adverb)

8. Syl Cheney-Coker is a clever Poet who used Literature to address the socio-political malaise in Sierra Leone.

(Adjective)

9. Syl Cheney-Coker a Poet, cleverly used Literature to address the socio-political malaise in Sierra Leone.

(Adverb)

10. The burglar was callous and unkind. (Adjectives)

11. The unkind burglar callously stole Pa Sheik’s valuables.( =Adverb)

NOTICE how some adjectives may already look like adverbs and work either way:

12. Daily WhatsApp messages from the Poet have become a constant feature of my life. (Adjective) describing the frequency of the common noun- texts.

13. The Poet texted me daily and that became a constant feature of my life. (Adverb modifying the verb phrase in the simple past tense- texted.)

Variation

The Poet texting me daily has become a constant feature of my life.

Adjectives MUST follow an order in a sentence when we're using more than one. Please ask yourself, what is this adjective doing to my noun or pronoun?

1- opinion, example: stunning

2- size, example: large

3- describing a physical quality: skeletal

4- describing a shape, example: triangular

5- Indicating age: fifty-seven-year old Deborah

6- Showing the colour: reddish pink

7- Indicating origin or serving as a proper adjective: Afghan

8- Says the material the noun is made of: tin [foil]

9- Other category: type etc- A communal bathroom; a three-legged table

10- The adjective indicates the purpose for which the noun is used. Example: a baking tray

Example of order

Efua's Tinder profile read: a gorgeous, tall, skinny, thirty-two-year old, curly-haired, Yoruba woman seeks long-term relationship.

Take away points:

Conjunctions link Subjects: neither nor, either or, and, but, so they affect the verb form.

Forming Compounds

Sometimes in English we use adverbs, adjectives, nouns, or verbs to form compound phrases.

In a compound phrase all the words work together to contribute to the meaning of the new phrase.

Examples:

1. The under-threat railway was heavily subsidised by the State.

[Meaning the endangered railway]

2. I live in a cul-de-sac.

3. Efua renewed her pay-as-you-go mobile phone contract with the phone company.

Compounds are more common as adjectives.

4. Babatunji is an able-bodied young fellow who should’ve joined the Nigerian army.

(Adverb modifying a participle phrase - texting me.)

Any, Some, Much, Few, Many

Any and Some are determiners. Any questions an uncertain or unnamed issue.

1. Has Mahmoud got ANY children?

2. Has Mahmoud got some children X

Any is used in questions.

Few establishes the degree of something

3. A few of the students were studying for their Masters in English.

4. Efua had a good few reasons to move to Lagos from Abuja.

Many/Much

Well, they establish a quantity, but much is used for uncountable items such as nouns.

5. Babatunji doesn't have much time over the weekends to go to the gym.

6. Mahmoud has many friends in Kabul.

Some

7. Efua bought some fish from the market

Pronouns

8. I'd like some [Fufu and Egusi soup], hasn’t your mum made *ANY?

9. Babatunji won [these sweets] at the raffle, would you like SOME?

Interjections

Interjections are commonly used in spoken English to express the speaker’s emotions- shock, pleasure, disgust, or anger for instance. Most interjections are just sounds and are placed at the beginning or end of what the speaker is saying.

“Ouch it stings, “said Mavuto when the nurse inserted a needle in his upper arm.

Ouch is an interjection that expresses pain.

“You’re going to Kenya, wow, that sounds like a good trip!”

Wow is an interjection conveying surprise.

“Hooray, I’ve won a million pounds.”

Hooray shows one’s delight or elation.

“Urgh, sorry I don’t eat aubergines.”

Urgh expresses disgust.

“Oops a daisy, wrong number.”

Oops there is used to buttress an apology.

Topics Discussed	In This Section	By Order
Fri., June 20	The Academy, L.A	Book It
Thu., June 19	Bamboo, Santa Barbara	Book It
Sat., June 28	Cheers, Santa Cruz	Book It
Wed., July 6	The Roxy, San Francisco	Book It

Types of Nouns

Noun Phrases

Singular and Plural Nouns

Adverbs

Adjectives

Pronouns

Conjunctions

Degree Determinatives -

No. I don't mean a university degree. I meant words that show the extent to which something happens.

Any, Some, Few, Little, Many, Much

1. "Have you got any items on sale?" the customer asked Efua desperately.

2. "I'll fetch some minnows from the back. Or would you like any of these fishes here instead?"

Fishes = different kinds of fish

Plural of one kind = fish

3. A little kindness goes a long way.

4. I've told him [a good few] times I'm not looking for a husband from abroad.

A good few = fairly many

Many/Much

5. How much salt and garlic should you add to Biriyani to flavour it? [Uncountable noun]

6. Babatunji ordered too *many [bags of salt] for Efua's food stall. {Bags = countable common noun plural}

7. A few days ago there was a near heatwave.

Very Many

8. Historians claim very many stadiums were built in early Rome to host Olympic games.

Comparisons Much, Most, Many, least -

Indians read *the most according to a recent online booklovers survey.

2. I prefer football *the most among competitive sports.

Opposite

Cricket is my *least favourite and as for hockey I definitely don’t like it [as much as] my son.

4. I don't think [very many] people emigrate to the United States anymore after Donald Trump's policies were put in place.

Variation

5. I don't think that many people emigrate to the United States anymore after Donald Trump's immigration policies.icies were introduced.

In Brief, What Do Word Classes Do?

1. Nouns - (Waiting times} are unbearable. {Name things}

2. Verbs - Joseph (is waiting) to see his GP. {Describe actions, states, can be auxiliaries or linking verbs}

3. Adjectives - There was a (long) waiting time at the surgery before patients were seen. {Modify nouns}

4. Adverbs - Joseph waited a (very) long time to be seen. {Modify adjectives, verbs and other adverbs}

5. Prepositions - Joseph walked (along) the footpath. {Show the spatial relationship between words. Use to give directions etc}

6. Determiners- There was (a) long waiting time at the surgery before patients were seen. {Specify nouns}

7, Interjections- *Huh, that long! (Show emotion)

8. Conjunctions- Joseph agreed to wait an hour at the surgery AS LONG AS he would eventually be seen by his GP. (Conjunction capitalised)

Introducing Persons and Number Agreement - Tenses

1. Ibrahim writes beautiful poetry, but I need him to revise Subject verb coordination.

(If I can substitute the noun or Subject for, he/she/it then my verb should be in the singular form.)

While excitedly watching Leone stars play Benin, Sheku accidentally kicked over his ginger beer on his carpet.

3. Tarai likes writing dramatic poetry for someone who hails from a peaceful country.

(If I can substitute my Subject Tarai for the pronoun, he then in the Simple Present Tense we use the third person singular)

Variation

Tarai liked writing dramatic poetry for someone who hailed from a peaceful country.

(Simple Past Tense)

Complex Subjects

1. Efua, Babatunji and a host of their friends ATTEND the same church in Abuja.

2.. A great deal of options COME with these folding chairs.

Nouns describing groups - British variation

3. The audience at Burna Boy's concert WERE/WAS quite excited to see his mum dancing on stage.

4.. The UK government DOES not tolerate tax avoidance.

(Sometimes we hear, The government DO not ... But I prefer the singular form).

Of Subjects -

5. In the middle of nowhere APPEARS this intoxicated fellow and begins hollering obscenities at Efua.

6. The bulk of the crisis EMANATES from dissidents in dissatisfied factions in North Nigeria.

Complex sentences

Examples-

Two or more nouns or pronouns in a Subject -

4. Lovers and newlyweds make love every day.

(Singular)

5 “My lover makes love to me every day,” boasted Aminata.

6. EDSL staff leave (plural) their (plural pronoun) vehicles parked on Siaka Stevens Street when they go (plural) for lunch at Mamie Bali’s cookery shop.

7. The participant said they enjoyed the workshop as they did it online. (unstated gender)

Study my next example for a second:

8. The main opposition party contestants and those from smaller political parties are excited about the legal challenge to the President’s Proportional Representation System.

Did you see how complex my Subject was? My Subject is plural so determines the verb form.

Broken down into segments-

The main opposition party contestants + and those from smaller political parties are (plural verb form in present simple tense) excited about the legal challenge to the President’s PR system.

Generally, the first noun or pronoun determines the verb form even if there is a phrase in between.

Examples -

9. A great proportion of writers - poets included- struggle to get published.

My Subject = A great proportion of writers

If you can put the phrase after the Subject in parentheses, then it is merely an adjunct and doesn’t not affect your verb form.

Reflexive Pronouns

myself
yourself
herself
himself
itself
ourselves
yourselves
themselves

Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are easy to learn because they all have one thing in common: the ending "self" or "selves." That's because reflexive pronouns show how the actions of an aforementioned, NOUN/PRONOUN affect the noun or pronoun under discussion.

Examples:

1. Sheku spilled his ginger beer.

Sheku spilled his ginger beer on HIMSELF (masculine, singular)

2. Isata’s mum said to Isata, “think about Isata.”

Isata’s mum to her, think about YOURSELF.

3. . One doesn’t always know how falling in love might make ONESELF more vulnerable.

4. The honeybee spun a web around ITSELF (neutral, singular)

5. Greenbelt residents dug a hole for THEMSELVES by voting in the wrong Representative.

6. “Behave YOURSELVES” Tarai admonished his pupils.

Sentences with PRONOUNS

Leticia HERSELF, was the lady who spoke to the women when THEY went to HER house, and SHE even invited THEM in for a cup of tea.

Pronouns Replace Nouns

Example -

Joseph drank Joseph’s Pepper Soup Joseph made while Joseph was relaxing in Joseph’s veranda. X

Joseph drank HIS Pepper Soup HE made HIMSELF while HE was sitting in HIS veranda.

Do You Know Determiners Precede nouns?

A, An, The

1. The President

2. A buxom female

3. An orange dress

Verbs

Action words which are conjugated to show the time an action occurred.

1. Joseph is doing his exercises outside.

2. Joseph WAS doing his exercises outside.

3. Joseph has done his exercises outside for the past week.

4. Joseph had done his exercises outside before the heavens opened.

5. Joseph will be doing his exercises outside from now on.

6. Joseph has been doing his exercises outside since last month.

7. Joseph had been doing his exercises outside for a month before his neighbour built a fence.

8. Joseph will have been doing his exercises outside for a month this February.

9. Joseph would have DONE aerobics by now according to the syllabus.

10. Joseph will do his exercises indoors now as his neighbour has complained.

Subjects

Subjects can be defined as comprising nouns , pronouns or adjective phrases. Generally speaking, the Subject is the first part of the sentence.

The predicate on the other hand, will contain the verb/s.. Your Subject/s should conform with your verb/s tenses and form.

Subject Pronouns

. 1

• we

• you (singular and plural)

• he

• she

• it

• they

Possesive Pronouns

. my

• our

• your

• her

• his

• their

Types of Pronouns

SUBJECT PRONOUNS

These are generally at the start of a sentence and replace a noun, which might be ANY type of noun. You may recall that I defined Subjects as the beginning of a sentence. Here's a list of contemporary Subject pronouns - in olden English they were different; ones have now fallen out of use are omitted.

Do you know these as PERSONAL pronouns too

Example:

Bridgette is a bit of a nerd.

I am /I'm a bit of a nerd.

OBJECT PRONOUNS

I've observed speakers of other languages struggle with these as they are tricky. Objects pronouns are used after PROPOSITIONS (which are words like of, on, in) or after a verb.

Examples:

1. Yusuf said in an interview, "this book is mainly about me." ABOUT is a proposition in my example although about is a multifactorial word and can function as an adverb).

2. Sheku asked me to include him in my WhatsApp contacts (to INCLUDE is in the to-infinitive verb form).

3. Tarai was singing with his pupils while teaching THEM Poetry. (teaching is a variant called a GERUND).

4. Noun: "Teaching is my day job", said Arun.

POSSESIVE PRONOUNS

Indicate something belongs to a noun/person/Object et cetera.

Examples:

Writing (noun) became a hobby of mine (Bridgette's habit) from when I was seventeen.

Hassan said this wife of mine has to go.

Use to show possession.

Object Pronouns
• me

• us

• you (singular and plural)

• her

• him

• it

• them

Some words could function as either an adverb or adjective:-

1. Babatunji believes in hard work.

Adjective + common, uncountable noun- work

2. Babatunji found paid work hard so become a stay-at-home dad.

Adverb = hard modifying to work

Changing adjectives to -ly ADVERBS

Efua is a BASHFUL young lady
Efua smiled at Ayomide BASHFULLY.
Syl Cheney-Coker is a CLEVER Poet who used Literature to address the socio-political malaise in Greenbelt.
Syl Cheney-Coker a Poet, CLEVERLY used Literature to address the socio-political malaise in Greenbelt.
The burglar was CALLOUS and unkind.
The unkind burglar CALLOUSLY stole Pa Sheik’s valuables.

NOTICE how some adjectives may already look like adverbs and work either way:

1. *DAILY WhatsApp messages from the Poet have become a constant feature of my life. (*Adjective describing the frequency of the common noun TEXTS.)

2. The Poet texted me *DAILY and that became a constant feature of my life. (*Adverb modifying the simple past tense TEXTED)

Variation

The Poet texting me *DAILY has become a constant feature of my life.

(*Adverb modifying texting)

Question:

What does Babatundes imply in the statement below?

Proper nouns are generally not pluralized but why was the rule broken here?

The GP receptionist mistakenly sent out a chain email to all the Babatundes registered at their surgery in Plumstead.

It means there was more than one Babatunde registered at the surgery.

Beware of Participle Adjectives

The words:

standing

wanting

dancing

are adjectives called participles.

Grammar Exercises

Please change the number into words- an adjective ending in -th or a noun

Example:

It’s the hundredth time (adjective) I’ve asked the poet to attend the Writing Workshop.

Exercises

1. Babatunji celebrated his (50) last month = fiftieth.

2. Ayorinde is the (9) child in a big family = ninth.

3. The trains drives at a (1,000) times the speed of lightning = a thousand.

4. What is (1/5) of an atom? = one-fifth.

5. I was (46) before I understood that (1/4) was smaller than half = forty-six; one-fourth.

All About adjectives

1. Descriptive Adjectives

express a quality or attribute of a noun.

Example: Ibrahim is a (pensive) writer.

2. Coordinate Adjectives

work together to modify the same noun. They’re separated by the word and or separated with commas.

Example: Jeneba is a (tall) and (attractive), Fulani girl.

African Poetry is an introspective, lyrically, descriptive take on socio-political issues.

3. Cumulative Adjectives

Like coordinate adjectives, cumulative adjectives work together to modify a noun. But they build on each other by describing different qualities of a noun — and unlike coordinate adjectives, they don’t require commas or and between each one.

Example:

Isata has six underaged teenage sons.

4. Proper Adjectives

I adore Vietnamese cuisine but can only cook (Indian) food.

*capitalised*

5. Demonstrative Adjectives

point to which noun or pronoun you’re speaking about. There are four demonstrative adjectives in the English language: this, that, these, and those.

Example: Those days are over, threatened the Minister.

6. Distributive Adjectives

Distributive adjectives, such as any, each, either every, or neither, modify each member of a group equally.

Example: Each entrant into the Christmas Writing Competition got a mention on my feed.

7. Indefinite Adjectives

Indefinite adjectives describe nouns or pronouns in a non-specific way. The indefinite adjectives include few, many, no, several, and some.

I renewed my Amazon Prime membership several days ago.

8. Interrogative Adjectives

Interrogative adjectives, which include what, which and whose, ask a question. They come right before a noun or pronoun.

Example: Which flavour of ice cream is your favourite?

9. Possessive Adjectives

show possession. Possessive adjectives come before their corresponding nouns.

Example: The fox ran back to its den.

10. Predicate Adjectives

Adjectives that appear after the linking verb and modify the Subject of the sentence are known as predicate adjectives. They’re also called Subject or Object complements.

Example: The Easter Writing Competition was easy.

Verb =is

11. Quantitative Adjectives

Quantitative adjectives describe the amount of something. They can be numbers or other adjectives, and they answer questions like “How much?” or “How many?”

Unlike indefinite adjectives, quantitative adjectives are clear about the amount of something.

Example: Jeneba has three teenage sons and (daughters).

Compound Adjectives

12. A compound adjective is made up of multiple words that work as one word to modify a noun. They are typically hyphenated, but not always.

Example: Long-term goals are the aim of this project.

(Notice how goal is a common noun so long-term is an adjective describing it.

Notice how in the sentence below it’s now an adverb of time.

The goals of this writing project are for the long term.)

PARTICLES

Participles can function as adverbials and GERUNDS. Please don’t confuse particles for the past particle in Perfect Tenses for example:

1. I have been dusting my ornaments all morning.

Have + been + dusting = Present Perfect Continuous

2. She’s eaten all the ginger cakes.

Eaten and dusting are the past particles of verbs.

Particles are words formed from verbs to be used as adjectives and may sometimes end in ING or ‘t’ with irregular verbs.

Example-

President Joe Bloggs’ RUNNING mate is Judah Jalloh.

(Running looks like the present continuous conjugation of the main verb but is functioning as an adjective which are parts of speech that modify NOUNS).

You may use particles to describe characters, pronouns, or nouns in your writing.

Examples

1. Tauri’s class got a STANDING ovation after their Poetry recital.

2. My arithmetic was described as WANTING (poor standard).

3. Lady Gee has been nicknamed the DANCING First Lady of TikTok.

Irregular particles examples:

4. Sheku served up a BURNT cake. (Derived from the verb to burn)

5. Isata was visibly SHAKEN after Brima told her off. (Obtained from the verb to shake).

Noun/Pronoun/Noun Phrase

Predicate houses verbs, adjuncts, and complements

Direct Object; Indirect Object

A complement is an essential part of the structure that adds vital information in the predicate in the form of an Object or a clause.

An adjunct may be omitted without compromising the semantics of the sentence, whereas a complement cannot be.

Examples-

1. A judge in Manchester delayed + the verdict.

Direct Object = noun phrase

2. A court in Manchester delayed the verdict + in the Lucy Letby case until the prosecution came up with a prerequisite to show similarities in offences.

Adjectives describe/modify NOUNS & PRONOUNS

Adverbs modify/qualify/quantify VERBS.

Examples:

1. Pa Babangida was an ABHORRENT old man (Adjective)

2. Pa Demba swore at Brima ABHORRENTLY (Adverb)

Adjectives may be placed before a noun or pronoun as a single word or in an adjectival phrase as a premodifier.

Example

3. Sheku has a big, soft, cuddly pillow (all the adjectives precede the proper noun Sheku).

After the noun/pronoun as a postmodifier

Example

4. Sheku's pillow was big, soft, and cuddly.

Adjective phrase

Example

5. Babatunji ate homegrown and succulent Cassava leaves at the Kiosk. (...homegrown and succulent is a pre-modifying adjectival phrase.

Adjective Order and Types

There are different types of adjectives: descriptive, numeral, quantitative, demonstrative, interrogative, possessive, proper, interrogative et cetera.

Examples:

1. Alemu has FIVE sisters but NO brothers (five & no = numerical adjectives)

2. Isata has numerous, uncountable siblings. (Numerous, uncountable = numerical adjectival phrase)

3. Bailor Barrie sent Bridgette a message with a portrait photograph of himself on Facebook.

(Portrait = descriptive adjective; of himself = descriptive adjective)

(The phrase - with a portrait photograph of himself, describes the noun MESSAGE which is the name of a type of online communication. The phrase is also a noun phrase that modifiers the noun: message).

4. Bailor Barrie sent Bridgette a message with an unsolicited, framed, portrait, photograph in a heart-shaped emoji) on Facebook.

(Unsolicited, portrait, framed photograph in a heart-shaped emoji = adjective phrase that describes the nature of the message Bridgette received.)

Adjectival Phrases can come before the noun or pronoun, and these are known as

PRE-MODIFIERS

Adjective phrases can follow the noun or pronoun and they’re known as POSTMODIFIERS.

Examples -

1. Sorie is in fact the boy

with long dreadlocks sitting on the table adjacent to the window in Mamie Balu’s Cookery shop, in the blue checkered shirt,

is a lengthy post modification of the Noun phrase or my Subject, Sorie.

But this is the sort of adjective phrases you find in stories. A story is richly descriptive so employs numerous adjectives.

2. Ginger beer is a non-alcoholic drink made from fermented ginger. The phrase in italics is an adjective phrase.

Complex Adjectives

Sometimes lengthy adjectives can be quite tricky to work with.

All categories of adjectives follow a logical order. Consider the following sentence:

a wooden polished new built-in affordable wardrobe

Doesn’t sound right, does it?

How about- an affordable new polished wooden built-in wardrobe? Much better, isn’t it?

The order of complex adjectives is-

Evaluation

Property

Age

Colour

Provenance

Manufacture

Type

Common types of adjectives 1 -

Comparative adjectives e.g. Lucas was thinner after his operation in Lebanon.

Superlative adjectives e.g. Gina Yashere is one of the funniest comedians I've heard.

Predicate adjectives:

Predicate adjectives are adjectives that appear in the predicate of a sentence as a Subject complement.

E.g. Winter is cold.

Compound adjectives:

Compound adjectives are adjectives that are formed from multiple words, which are usually connected by hyphens.

E.g. A cross-eyed, one-legged man from Greenbelt asked me to marry him.

Possessive adjectives:

Possessive adjectives are often used to express possession or ownership.

E.g. Writers often rely on their imagination.

Demonstrative adjectives:

Demonstrative adjectives are used to express relative positions in space and time.

E.g. This nonfiction story is more poignant than Abiola's one.

Proper adjectives:

Proper adjectives are adjectives formed from proper nouns.

E.g. I love a Chinese takeaway.

Participial adjectives:

Words based on participles which are words that mostly end in -ed or -ING

E.g. I offer free English Learning workshops.

Common types of adjectives 2 -

Limiting adjectives:

are adjectives that restrict a noun or pronoun rather than describe any of its characteristics or qualities.

E.gs.

1. Hassan scored ten points only.

2. The message was to ask for some money.

Descriptive adjectives:

are adjectives that describe the characteristics, traits, or qualities of a noun or pronoun. Most adjectives are descriptive adjectives.

E.g. My dress has blue and pink flowers.

Interrogative adjectives:

are adjectives that are used to ask questions. The interrogative adjectives are what, which and whose.

E.g. Whose husband sent Isata a Valentine card?

Attributive adjectives:

are adjectives that are directly next to the noun and pronoun that they modify. Usually, attributive adjectives come directly before nouns and pronouns, but they modify. But they can sometimes appear after them.

E.gs. -

1. Musu writes beautiful poetry.

(Poetry = noun).

2. I have something special for the most moving short story writer in the competition.

{The adjective special is describing the noun thing}.

Distributive adjectives:

are used to refer to members of a group individually. Examples of distributive adjectives include: each, every, either, and neither.

E.g. Each APC candidate had a separate constituency.

Academic English and Nominalization

When writing for academic purposes, one tends to use a process of Nominalization.

to give names (attribute nouns) to ideas and concepts. It is assumed recipients of the message can decipher and understand the codes utilised.

A medical student would understand this -

Patient A has an IV line in-situ no need to change cannulas. Check regular flow to prevent air bubbles. Re-cannulate if blockage noted in vein.

Dr Joe Bloggs.

Ordinarily we might use verb or adverb groups when speaking or writing informally.

In academic English these noun/ noun groups are referred to as jargon.

Do you sometimes get confused about which determiner to use before a noun phrase?

Please read my sentences below -

1. A children’s home is being built adjacent to the roundabout in Leeds.

Let’s paraphrase this sentence.

A home for children is being built adjacent to the roundabout in Leeds.

The determiner ‘a’ which you might know as an indefinite article is describing the noun home, not children.

In fact, the plural common countable noun children is sort of working as a descriptive word. It tells you what category of home’s being constructed.

2. Efua shopped in a women’s boutique.

Here’re some more examples-

A variety of options

A kaleidoscope of colours

A girls’ mini

A 1970’s production

A sixties dress

Homonymous words can function as either an adjective or adverb.

Examples -

1. Clear

2. Daily

3. Likely

4. Babatunji has a part-time job

(Adjective describing job, a noun).

5. Alemu is babysitting part-time to raise Kwachas for her university fees.

(Adverb modifying to babysit.)

What is an Object in a sentence?

Example:

1. Babatunji told her his life story

Can you identify the Objects?

If you picked out both her and his life story, then you were absolutely right.

An Object is often a noun, pronoun, or noun clause that the Subject’s actions are affected by.

Babatunji

Told (verb)

Her

What?

His life story

What then is a Direct Object?

They receive the action straight from the Subject.

Example:

2. Babatunji told + his life story.

..his life story is the Direct Object of the transitive verb told.

Shall we insert a pronoun?

3. Babatunji told +her + his life story

The Object pronoun her is now the Indirect Object

Here’re some more examples-

4. Father Christmas brought me a new office chair.

... a new office chair = Direct Object.

5. Efua sent us an invitation to her wedding.

Us = Indirect Object

The Indirect Object is easily identified when it’s encased in a prepositional phrase.

6. Babatunji told his life story + to her.

7. Father Christmas brought an office chair + for me.

8. Efua sent a wedding invitation + to us.

Pronouns continued

As the word "indefinite" suggests, these pronouns do not specify the identity of their referents. They are more vague than other pronouns.

• all

• another

• any

• anybody

• anyone

• anything

• both

• each

• either

• everybody

• everyone

• everything

• few

• many

• most

• neither

• nobody

• none

• no one

• nothing

• one

• other

• others

• several

• some

• somebody

• someone

• something

• such

PREPOSITIONS

We use simple prepositions like:

With

About

frequently. But all prepositions serve the grammatical purpose of showing a relationship between words.

Preposition Uses

To show time

Examples -

1. My alarm goes off at 7 am every week day.

2. The CEO was sitting a contract to rebuild Lungi Airport for years.

Prepositions as an agent

Example-

1. Yemata stood by her husband even though the voting public despised him.

To indicate place

Example -

1. Yusuf went Makeni to rebuild his life.

To show direction.

Example -

1. Head towards the roundabout and to your left you'd see the shopping mall.

Coordinating CONJUNCTIONS

Neither as a determiner -

Neither allows us to make a negative statement about two people or things at the same time. Neither goes before singular countable nouns. We use it to say ‘not either’ in relation to two things. Neither can be pronounced /ˈnaɪðə(r)/ or /ˈni:ðə(r)/.

Neither parent came to meet the teacher. (The mother didn’t come, and the father didn’t come.)

Neither dress fitted me. (There were two dresses and not one of them fitted me.)

We use neither of before pronouns nor plural countable nouns which have a determiner (my, his, the) before them:

Neither of us went to the concert.

Neither of the birthday cards was suitable.

Spoken English:

In formal styles, we use neither of with a singular verb when it is the Subject. However, in informal speech, people often use plural verbs:

1. Neither of my best friends was around.

2. Neither of them were interested in going to university.

In spoken English, we can use neither on its own in replies when we are referring to two things that have already been mentioned:

Mike, which would you prefer, Egusi soup or Bitter Leaves?

Neither thanks. I’ve just had some fufu.

Neither … nor

We can use neither as a conjunction with nor. It connects two or more negative alternatives. This can sound formal in speaking:

Neither Brian nor his wife mentioned anything about moving house. (Brian didn’t mention that they were moving house, and his wife didn’t mention that they were moving house.)

Neither Italy nor France got to the quarter finals last year.

The less formal alternative is to use and … not … either:

Italy didn’t get to the quarter finals last year and France didn’t either.

Not with neither and nor

When a clause with neither or nor is used after a negative clause, we invert the Subject and the verb after neither and nor:

My son hadn’t done any homework, neither had he taken any of his books to class.

We didn’t get to see the castle, nor did we see the cathedral.

Neither do I, Nor can she

We use neither and nor + auxiliary/modal verb + Subject to mean ‘also not’:

I hate snakes. I can’t even look at a picture of a snake.

Neither can I.

Not: I can’t also. X

Jacqueline doesn’t drive.

Nor does Olajide.

Not: Olajide doesn’t also. X

• So am I, so do I, Neither do I

Not … either

We can use not … either to mean ‘also not’, but we do not change the word order of the auxiliary or modal verb and Subject:

I haven’t ever tasted caviar.

I haven’t either. (or Neither have I./Nor have I.)

I didn’t see Efua at the concert.

I didn’t either. (or Neither did I./Nor did I.)

In informal speaking, we often say me neither:

I can’t smell anything.

Me neither. (or I can’t either.)

Neither: typical errors

• We use neither, not none, when we are talking about two people or things:

Novels and the Internet are different. Neither of them should replace the other.

Not: None of them …

• We don’t normally use both (of) + not to make a negative statement about two people or things:

Neither of these gowns is/are dry yet.

Not: Both of these gowns aren’t dry yet. X

Prepositional Phrases

Sometimes two or more words may work together to infer meaning of a preposition such as a preposition + an article.

My son hid beneath the duvet to play peek-a-boo.
Sarah’s cancer was caught on time.

I now wish to turn your attention to what a lot of online learners I have encountered on this project struggle with: which preposition collates with which verb?

Examples:

I couldn’t AGREE with a politician that people voted wisely 5 years ago.
ACCORDING to a man who saw my advert I’m going to be his wife one day.

Here’re some phrasal prepositions:

On behalf of
On account of
With regard to meaning reference to (not regards to, a misspelling)
You may wish to end an email with, With regards (kind thoughts).

Adverbs

Please use adverbs ending in -ly to show the manner in which something occurred:

An erratically driven car

To show intensity or degree:

Very rough time

To show directions, we borrow words which ordinarily are prepositions:

Efua walked sideways after her appendix operation.

To show frequency:

Babatunji seldom goes to church but always hangs out in his local pub every Sunday.

Adverbs can be instruments:

Efua’s tissue was microscopically examined in Abuja Hospital.

Location:

Google Earth films worldwide.

Please use adverbs to express time or duration:

Alemu’s minibus leaves early so sometimes she misses it.

Finally for modality:

Maybe, Babatunji and Efua will tie the knot this year. Their parents will probably have to contribute towards the wedding.

Relative Pronouns

pronouns which relate to an aforementioned noun , Noun phrase, or pronoun.

• that

• what

• whatever

• which

• whichever

• who

• whoever

• whom

• whomever

• whose

Example: Jeneba, WHO is the girl wearing a green sari lives in THAT house WHICH you can see.

(Which introduces a clause that doesn’t add essential information to the sentence. It can be left out. The use of either that or which to introduce defining or non-defining clauses is not enforced in British English.)

Nine Types of Pronouns in Brief -

Personal pronouns (e.g., he, they, we)
Demonstrative pronouns (e.g., this, that, these)
Interrogative pronouns (e.g., which, who, whose)
Indefinite pronouns (e.g., none, several, any)
Possessive pronouns (e.g., his, yours, ours)
Reciprocal pronouns (e.g., each other, one another)
Relative pronouns (e.g., which, who, that)
Reflexive pronouns (e.g., itself, himself, ourselves)

Relative, Interrogative and Demonstrative Pronouns:-

Which refers to things or people.

Which flowers did you girlfriend send you? (Singular or plural)

That refers to Objects and people.

Examples -

1. The car that Tarai wants to buy is a Porsche. (Object)

2. That girl looks a bit like Beyonce. (Person)

Who refers to people.

Who won the world cup this year?

Whom refers to persons.

Example -

To whom was the first prize awarded by Ella's Poems? (Underlined word is a prepositon; whom is used in the Object position after prepositions et cetera.)

Prepositions in sentences -

1. The politician was elected in June. (Time)

2. He was inaugurated on a sunny day. (Date/time)

3. The Poet re-edited his material after the publication rejected it. (Time frame)

4. Joseph eats breakfast before going to school. (Specified time frame)

5. While you’re here please make a donation.

6. Mary ate Fried Fish instead of Cassava Bread.

7. My new lipstick differs from the Maybelline one.

SUBODINATING CONJUNCTIONS:

They add additional information to a clause/phrase.

List of Subordinating Conjunctions

1. Apposition – that, why, how

2. Reason – as, because

Alemu ate all the meatballs BECAUSE she was hungry.

3. Purpose – that, so that, in order that

The President called a meeting IN ORDER THAT the aggrieved opposition party candidates may express their concerns.

4. Effect – that

Tarai wanted to be a Poet so much THAT he followed the page.

5. Condition – if, unless

I shall remain a spinster UNLESS I travel the world and meet a toyboy.

6. Contrast – though, although

The farmer had planted his crops in March and watered them diligently, although he knew he wouldn't have much to harvest.

7. Comparison – as, as much as, no less than

I have a small pot of savings IN AS MUCH AS I do, I am not a millionaire.

8. Manner – as, so far as

Efua's landlady is undoubtably kind hearted AS proven by the affordable rates Efua pays her for utilities.

9. Time – before, after, when

Do you remember the olden days WHEN gentlemen would hold doors open for ladies all the time?

10. Place – where, wherever

Mahmoud longed for a holiday WHEREVER his meagre savings could get him to.

CONJUNCTIONS and Clauses

Did you notice how my sentences consist of two/2 independent clauses linked by a conjunction?

Did you notice how my second clause gives a reason, an explanation or states a condition?

Well in British grammar we call this informative value.

Prepare for IELTS

Common Conjunctions

Efua AND Obafemi were lovers BUT Efua was married to Ekundayo, SO she dumped Obafemi BUT Ekundayo had seen a text she'd sent to her boyfriend SO, he divorced her AND Efua is now a single mum.

1. AND links two or more Subjects:

Mangoes, apples, satsumas, melons, and bananas are fruits. (Commas)

2. BUT links contradictory clauses:

I was looking for so authors but I ran into a hurdle so stopped.

3. SO links clauses:

Lenthy sentences need a comma or to break up so please remember that.

I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.

Introducing GERUNDS

Gerunds are ING words functioning as nouns and are often the Subject of sentences meaning they head a sentence so determine verb form.

Examples:

6. THINKING about gardening gives me a headache. (Thinking can be replaced by the pronoun, it so takes the third person singular verb in the simple present tense.)

7. JUMPING straight into marriage after college, was Belinda’s worst mistake.

(Notice that No auxiliary is required (helping verb) as gerunds are NOUNS.)

Take away points;

Particles are verbs working as adjectives

Gerunds are verbs working as nouns.

Word Classes, Phrases and Clauses Identified

Abiola, (proper noun) a (determinative) jilted (descriptive adjective) bride (common noun) arrived (simple past tense) angrily, (adverb of manner) early (adverb of time) one rainy morning (adjective phrase) at (preposition) Hassan's (noun with an apostrophe 's' functioning as a possessive) compound (common noun) in Mountain Cut (noun phrase) and (conjunction) spray-painted (hyphenated adjective) the (determinative) exterior (descriptive adjective) wall of his grey bungalow (noun phrase) with red paint. (Adjective phrase headed by a preposition)

Topics Discussed	In This Section	By Order
Fri., June 20	The Academy, L.A	Book It
Thu., June 19	Bamboo, Santa Barbara	Book It
Sat., June 28	Cheers, Santa Cruz	Book It
Wed., July 6	The Roxy, San Francisco	Book It

Person and Number Agreement

Tenses

Sentences

Subjects

Pronouns (Continued)

Adverbs (Continued)

Adjectives (Continued)

Conjunction - Types

Determiners

Phrases and Verbs

End of Module One

Contact B. James

Module 2

www.ellaspoems.com

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An Introduction to Basic English Grammar

Basic English Grammar

Module One-
Word Classes,
Grammatical Terminologies

Word Classes

Word classes, also known as parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions, and interjections.

Noun Phrases

Collective nouns

Subjects

Prepare for IELTS

Subscribe to Penned in Rage

An Introduction to Basic English Grammar

Basic English Grammar

Module One- Word Classes, Grammatical Terminologies

Word Classes

Word classes, also known as parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions, and interjections.

Noun Phrases

Collective nouns

Subjects

Prepare for IELTS

Subscribe to Penned in Rage

Module One-
Word Classes,
Grammatical Terminologies