English Grammar

A Short Guide

Graham Tulloch
This book was prepared in the English Discipline of the Flinders
University
South of and printed by Flinders Press.
Australia

©1990 Graham Tulloch

FURTHER READING

This is intended as a basic and simple guide to English grammar. For a

more
detailed introduction with exercises see J .R. Bernard's excellent book A Short
Guide to Tradit ional English Grammar (Sydney: Sydney University Press, l975) to
which I am much indebted. For a longer study read Randolph Quirk and
Sidney Greenbaum, A University Grammar of English (London: Longman, 1973)
and for a very detailed, very complex (and very expensive) treatment of
the
subject see Randolph Quirk, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech and Jan
Svartik, A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (London: Longman,
1985).

2
PARTS OF A WORD

A word can be divided into its STEM (the basic part of the word containing
its
meaning) and its INFLECTIONS ( the endings added to indicate such things
as
that a noun is PLURAL or a verb is in the past tense).

Examples: Stem: dog

walk

Inflections: sin dog s

ed in walk ed

PARTS OF A SENTENCE

SUBJECT

The subject is the person, thing or topic which the sentence deals with.
To
discover the subject, ask who or what before the verb, e.g. in the sentence The
house stands on the hill, what stands on the hill? Answer: the house .

Examples: The house stands on the hill.

It overlooks the plain.

PREDICATE

The predicate is all of the sentence except the subject.

Examples: The house stands on the hill .

It overlooks the plain .

OBJECT

The object is the person, thing or topic upon which the subject carries
out theof the verb. To discover the object, ask
action who or what after the verb, e.g.
the house overlooks what? Answer: the plain.

Examples: The house overlooks the plain .

I see him clearly.
He watches himsel f carefully.

In some cases a whole clause can act as object.

Example:
Sometimes
alternatively
For
3me .example,
Here weHe
be
the
instead
expressed
said
apparently
book ofis by
the
have
placing
direct
He two
gave
that
object
objects.
COMPLEMENT
the
meand
Green
theto
Where
book
before
Knight
meone
it,the
we
was
itofindirect
iscan
these
called
really
sayobject
can
the
orange
He gave
indi
. the
rectbook
object
. to.
After the verb to be there is no object since the noun which f ollows refers to the
same thing as that which precedes the verb (the subject). The noun f
ollowing
the verb to be is called the complement.

Examples: I am a man .
This is the question .

CLAUSE

There are two kinds of clauses: principal (or main) clauses, and subordinate
(or
dependent) clauses.

Principal Clauses

A group of words which includes a subject and a finite verb and makes
acomplete statement.

Examples: I am a man.
The house stands on the hill.
When I come home, I will let the cat in.

The f ollowing are not principal clauses because they do not make a complete
statement which can stand by itself:

Which is a problem
That the house is standing on the hill
When I come home
The house which stands on the hill

Subordinate Clause

A group of words which includes a finite or non-finite verb but does not
make
a statement which stands by itself.

Examples: As soon as the Green Knight entered the room all were
astounded.
He said that the Green Knight was really orange.
The house, which stands on the hill, is empty.

Subordinate clauses
In this sentence thecan be classified
clause f ulfills according
the same tofunction
their f unction:
as an adverb such
Adverbi
Example:
immediately
as
4Noun Clause
al Clause
in the
As sentence
astounded.
soon as theimmediately
Green Knight all were
entered
astounded
the room . , all were
Example: He said that the Green Knight was really orange.

The clause fulfills the same function as a noun such as the words He
in said the
words.

Relative Clause

Example: The house, which stands on the hill, is empty.

Relative clauses are adjectival in nature. The clause fulfills the same role
as an
adjective such as high-placed in the sentence The high-placed house is empty.

Clauses can also be classified by whether they contain a finite verb.

Finite Clause

A f inite clause contains a finite verb and, usually, a subject. It can be a

principal
clause or a subordinate clause.

Examples: They say ni ce things about you . (principal clause)

When they say nice things about you they are not lying.
(subordinate clause)

Non-Finite Clause

A non-finite clause contains a non-finite verb but does not contain a finite
verb
and cannot stand alone. A non-finite clause cannot be a principal clause.
Non-
finite verbs include participles and infinitives .

Examples: Singing and dancing, he moved slowly up the aisle.

He gave me an invitation to bring you to the party.
Having eaten all the cakes , he began to consume the biscuits.
Filled with joy, he left the room.

PHRASE

A phrase is group of words wit hout a verb.

Examples: It is on the hill.

He went over the sea.
house
Examples:
5The house
nounstands
articlefirmly
+
article
noun+ article
noun++noun
verb
PARTS
+ verbOF
+ adverb
SPEECH
The house stands firmly on the hill article + noun + verb + adverb
preposition + article + noun
The empty house stands on the hill article + adjective + verb + adverb +
preposition + article + noun
It stands on the hill pronoun + verb + preposition + article
+ noun
Since it stands on the hill it overlooks conjunction + pronoun + verb +
the plain preposition + article + noun +
pronoun + verb + article + noun

NOUN

Nouns can be thought of as 'names'; they denote things, people, abstract ideas.

Examples: The house is old.

A king was here.
Virtue is its own reward .
Accidents will happen.

ARTICLE

The articles are: t he , a, an . The is called the definite article ;a (and

n) isacalled
the indefini te articl e .

VERB

A verb is a "doing word". It expresses the carrying out of an action.

With an
active verb this action is carried out by the subject.

Examples: It stands .
I am .
He adjudicates between the parties concerned.
Alfred burnt the cakes.

With a passive verb the action is carried out upon the subject:

Examples: The cakes were burnt by Alfred.

The Bible is read in many languages.

Verbs have various qualities:

Tense
6This is the feature of the verb indicating when the action took place
Examples: Present tense: It stands
Past Tense: It stood
Future Tense: It will stand

Aspect

This is the feature of the verb which indicates whether the action is was or
will
be a completed one or a continuous one. If the verb is unmarked as to
whether
it is completed, 'perfect' or continuous, 'progressive', it is called simple
. Hence
we can draw up the f ollowing scheme:

Simple Present: It stands

Simple Past: It stood
Simple Future: It will stand

Present Perfect: It has stood

Past Perfect: It had stood
Future Perfect: It will have stood

Present Progressive: It is standing

Past Progressive: It was standing
Future Progressive It will be standing

The present perfect is often know simply as the perfectand the past perfect is
sometimes called the pluperfect .

Voice

In English we have the active and the passive voice. In the active voice
the
subject carries out the action of the verb; in the passive the action of the
verb is out upon the subject.
carried

Examples: Active: I place

Passive: I am placed

A full complement of passive verbs exists in English. The passive is

formed
with the appropriate tense of the verb t o be and the past participle.

Examples: Present Progressive Passive: I am being placed

Past Perfect Passive: I had been placed
Future Perfect Passive: I will be placed
There are three moods in English.
7Mood
 1. Indicative:

The indicative mood is the normal one in present-day English (PE):

Example: I was going to the pictures

2. Subjunctive:

The subjunctive mood is much rarer in PE; it expresses a hypothetical action.

Examples: If I were going to the pictures.

I wish I were going to the pictures.

3. Imperative:

The imperative mood expresses an order.

Example: Go to the pictures.

Finite and Non-Finite Verbs

Verbs are either finite or non-finite. Non-finite verbs do not include any
indication of tense. One kind of non-finite verb is the infinitive
. The infinitive
is the basic form of the verb. It is often combined with to as Iinam going to
stand here . However the infinitive is not always preceded by to: in the sentence
I will stand the infinitive is st and . Combined with will the infinitivestand
makes the finite (future tense) verb will stand . Other non-finite parts of the
verb are the participles. The present participle is the form of the verb
used in
constructions like:

I am going .
He is combing his hair.
They are developing rapidly.

The same form of the verb can also be used as a noun (in which case it is
called
a gerund or verbal noun :

Examples: Developing is not easy.

Walking is pleasant in the summer.

or as an adjective (in which case it is called a gerundive or verbal adjective :

Examples:
She
8The ispast
a participle
The third world
is used
I have
She
It has
ishas
in
made
constructions
developed
growing
walked
grown
up of the
.. child.
like:
into a major argument.
developing countries.
This form is often the same in PE as the past tense (cf. I walked) but not
always
(cf. I grew). This also appears as an adjective:

A grown man

ADVERB

An adverb modifies a verb; it indicates how the action of a verb is carried out.

Examples: The house stands firmly .

She speaks well .
He dresses beautifully .

It can also modif y an adjective or another adverb.

The house is very firm.

She answered most considerately.

PREPOSITION

A preposition connects a noun (with or without an article) or a pronoun

to
some other word. Prepositions are the "little words of English".

Examples: It stands on hills.

The swagman jumped into the billabong.
England is over the sea.
She told the good news to him.

ADJECTIVE

An adjective qualif ies a noun; it describes the attributes of a noun.

Examples: The house stands on the high hill.

Precious purple prose provokes profound professors.

PRONOUN

Pronouns take the place of nouns.

Examples: It stands on the hill.

I see myself .
The
Therehouse
Personal
9These are Pronouns
adivided
numberinto
of dif
"persons"
That
What
ferentstands
stands
kinds which
as follows:
on
of stands on the hill overlooks the plain.
onpronouns:
the
the hill.
hill?
Singular Plural
First person I we
Second person you (thou) you
Third person he, she, it they

The personal pronouns also include the reflexive and emphaticpronouns.

These are the same in form but different in function. They are myself, himself,
themselves etc.

Examples: Reflexive: I see myself .

People help themsel ves .

Emphatic: I think myself that it is wrong.

They themselves want to stay on.

Relative Pronouns

The relative pronouns are as follows:

People Things
Subject who, that which, that
Object whom, that which, that
Possessive whose whose

These are used in relative clauses such as:

Examples: This is the man who saw me.

This is the man whom I saw.
This s the man whose house I saw.
This is the man that I saw.
This is the house that J ack built.

Demonstrative Pronouns

These are: This these

That those

Examples: This is the house.

That is the question.

They are also used as demonstrative adjectives:

Examples:
Interrogative
These
People
Subject
10 are
Things
who
usedwhat,
Pronouns
in questions:
whichThis man
That houseis isgreen.
red.
Object whom, who what, which
Possessive whose

Examples: Who(m) did you see?

Who is that man?
Which is the right way?
Who(m) did you speak to?

What and which can be also used as interrogative adjectives in which case they
can be applied to people.

Examples: Whi ch house stands on the hill?

Whi ch Prime Minister was drowned?
What sweet do you recommend?

CONJUNCTIONS

Some conjunctions are coordinati ng (i.e. joining elements of the same kind) like
and or but .

Examples: It stands on the hill and overlooks the plain.

I say this but she says that.

Other conjunctions are subordinating (i. e. joining a subordinate clause to a

main clause) like when because , since , as .

Examples: Since it stands on the hill it overlooks the plain.

Al though I say this she says that.
When Gawain saw the Green Knight he did not show that he
was afraid.

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