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Copyright © 2013-2014 English Grammar Revolution. All Rights Reserved.

This webpage will provide the learners knowledge in the

proper way of using the English language.

This webpage hopes to achieve the philosophy and objective

of the Basic Education Curriculum in English outlined by

the Department of Education. May this webpage become an

effective instrument to the learners.

About the

Webpage




About the

Authors

Judy Ann Tugano, Lois Faye Valencia is the developers of

“GrammarClub.com”. They are from Manila, Philippines and a

graduating Bachelor of Arts in English students of the

Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Sta. Mesa, Manila.




Remember that every clause is, in a sense, a miniature sentence. A simple

sentences contains only a single clause, while a compound sentence, a complex

sentence, or a compound-complex sentence contains at least two clauses.

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1. Simple SentenceA simple sentence contains only one independent clause.

An independent clause is a group of words (with a subject and a verb) that expresses a complete

thought.

I drink coffee.

I drink coffee is an independent clause. It contains a subject (I) and a verb (drink), and it

expresses a complete thought.




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2. Compund Sentences



A compound sentence contains at least two independent clauses. These clauses

are joined by a coordinating conjunction or a semicolon.

A coordination conjunction is a word that glues words, phrases, or clauses

together.

She cooked and he cleaned.She cooked is an independent clause. He cleaned is also and independent clause. And is a coordinating

conjunction joining the two independent clauses. She cooked and he cleaned is a compound sentence.




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3. Complex Sentences

A complex sentence contains a subordinate clause and an independent clause.

A subordinate clause is a group of words that has a subject and a verb but does not

express a complete thought.

I washed the dishes after I ate breakfast.

I washed the dishes is an independent clause. After I ate breakfast is a dependent adverb clause

modifying the verb washed. I washed the dishes after I ate breakfast is a complex sentence.


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4. Compound-Complex Sentences

A compound-complex sentence contains at least two independent clauses and at least one

subordinate clause.

I would have purchased the cheese that you like, but it was too expensive.

I would have purchased the cheese and it was too expensive are both independent clauses. They

are being joined by the conjunction but.





NounA noun is the name of a person, place, thing, idea, or quality.

Examples: John, Mary, boy, girl, children;

Pasadena, CEC; classrooms, notebooks; freedom, intelligence;

hope, anger, joy

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PronounA pronoun is usually a substitute for a noun. The noun is called the "antecedent" (but an indefinite

pronoun has no antecedent).

Examples:

a. Personal pronouns: I, mine, me; you, yours; he, his, him; she, hers, her; it, its; we, ours, us; they,

theirs, them.

b. Interrogative pronouns: who, whose, whom, which, what

c. Relative pronouns (include): who, who, whose, which, that; whoever, whomever, whichever

d. Demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, those

e. Indefinite pronouns (include): all, another, any, anybody, anyone, anything, both, each, either,

everybody, everyone, everything, many, neither, nobody, no one, none, one, others, some, somebody,

someone, such

f. Intensive or reflexive pronouns: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves



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VerbA verb expresses an action or a condition (a state of being).

Examples: Robert will eat the hamburger. (action) Sara is happy. (condition or state of

being)

Robert won’t eat the hamburger. Sara isn’t happy.

Will Robert eat the hamburger? Is Sara happy?

Adverb



An adverb describes a verb, adjective, or other adverb. Adverbs usually tell how (for example: slowly),

when (e.g., lately), where (e.g., there), how much (e.g., very), or why (e.g., therefore).

Example: He always chews his gum loudly.

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AdjectiveAn adjective describes or limits a noun.

Examples: tall, young, pretty, light, blue, new, white (The tall, young, pretty girl is wearing a light blue

dress with her new white shoes.) (NOT: ...a light dress blue with her new shoes white.)

Adjectives and adverbs have three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative,

superlative. Examples:

Mary has a smart child. Sara has a smarter child. Nancy has the smartest child.

Robert is an intelligent student. William is more intelligent than Robert. Kim is the most

intelligent student.

The red car is expensive. The white car is less expensive. The blue car is the least expensive.

I’m a good painter. She’s a better painter. He’s the best painter.

I’m a bad singer. She’s a worse singer. He’s the worst singer.

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PrepositionA preposition usually shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another part of a

sentence.

There are many

prepositions, including: about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, as, at, before

, behind, below, beneath, between, beyond, beside, besides, by, down, during, except, from, for, in

, inside, into, like, near, next, of, off, on, out, out

of, outside, over, past, round, since, than, through, till, to, toward, towards, under, underneath,

unless, until, upon, up, with, within, without.

Examples: My pencil is under my desk by my foot.

Martha drove from LA to NY.



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ConjunctionA conjunction connects words, phrases, and clauses.

Coordinate conjunctions connect words, phrases, and clauses of equal value: and, or, nor, but (and

sometimes for). e.g., The dog and the cat are hungry.

Correlative conjunctions occur in pairs: both-and, either-or, neither-nor, not only-but

also. e.g., Both the fish and the snake are thirsty.

Subordinate conjunctions connect unequal clauses (dependent clauses with independent clauses).

They

include: after, although, as, because, before, if, since, than, though, unless, until, when, where, while.

e.g., After they ate, they had dessert.

InterjectionAn interjection is a word that expresses feeling or emotion; usually it is followed by an

exclamation mark.

Examples: Oh! Ah! Wow! Darn! Gosh! Golly! Gee! Ow! Ouch! Yikes! Holy

moly! Yippee! Hooray! Boo! Whew!Home<< Back



Subject-verb agreement just means using the right version of the verb to agree with the subject. For example:

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What Is Subject-Verb

Agreement?


If you use the term "verb conjugation," your mates will probably think you're bit of brainbox, but it

just means "how verbs change to agree with their subjects."

It's really simple. If you're a native English speaker, you'll naturally ensure your verbs agree with

their subjects (i.e., conjugate correctly). Here's an example:



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Subject Conjugation of the VerbTo Be

I am

You are

He / She / It is

We are

You are

They are




That was the verb to be. Most other verbs

are even easier:

Subject Conjugation of the VerbTo Play

I play

You play

He / She / It plays

We play

You play

They play

It is a simple concept, but, sometimes, it's difficult

to know whether your subject is singular or plural.

In other words, should you be using a singular verb

(like is and plays) or should you be using a plural

one (like are and play)? Below is a summary of the

areas which cause the most problems:

Someone and Anyone Take Singular Verbs

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The indefinite pronouns anyone, each, everyone, no one, nobody, and someone are singular. For

example:

■ No one knows what he can do till he tries. (Publilius Syrus, circa 100 BC)

■ I hope that while so many people are out smelling the flowers, someone is taking the time to

plant some. (Herbert Rappaport)

■ The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it alive. (Robert Heinlein, 1907-

1988)

■ Nobody is ever met at the airport when beginning a new adventure. (Elizabeth Warnock

Fernea)

That all seems pretty straightforward. However, if you have to use a possesive

adjective (e.g., his, her) in the same sentence, problems start to arise. Look at this example:

■ If anyone goes to a psychiatrist, he ought to have his head examined.

What if the person isn't male? The English language doesn't handle this very well. This is

covered more in the Beware section on the right. << Back Next >>




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All and Some Can Take a Singular or a Plural Verb

The indefinite pronouns all, any, more, most, and some are singular when they refer to something

singular (i.e., a non-countable noun) but plural when they

refer to something plural (i.e., a countable noun). For

example:

All of the bread has been stolen.

All of the biscuits have been stolen.

My theory is that all of Scottish cuisine is based on a

dare. (Mike Myers)

Some of the worst mistakes of my life have been haircuts. (Jim Morrison, 1943-1971)

Number Of Takes a Plural Verb...Most of the Time

If it helps, you can think of number as following the same rules

as all and some (see above). Therefore, the term a number of will

nearly always be plural because the object of the

preposition of (i.e., the word that follows it) will be plural. For

example:

•A number of men were strongly opposed to the changes.

•Lee, a number of cakes have been stolen from the buffet.

Beware though, because number can be a singular noun referring

to an arithmetical value.

The number of women was sixty-four.•The number of women were sixty-four.




Terms Like Half Of, the Majority Of, and a Percentage Of Can Be Singular or Plural

Expressions such as half of, a part of, a percentage of, a proportion of , and a majority of are singular

when they refer to something singular but plural when they refer to something plural. For example:

Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half the

time. (E. B. White, 1899-1985)

Half of the world knows not how the other half lives. (George Herbert, 1593-1633)

Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation. (Henry Kissinger)

My guess is that well over 80 percent of the human race goes without having a single original thought. (H. L. Mencken, 1880-1956)


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None Can Take a Singular or Plural Verb

The indefinite pronoun none can be singular or plural. However, be aware that treating none as plural might irk some of your readers as many people believe none can only be singular. For example:

None of the team is ready.•None of the team are ready.Here's a tip: If your none translates best as not one of, then treat it as singular. If it translates best as not any of, then treat it as plural. If this doesn't work for your example, then try to treat it as singular. If, however, that just sounds wrong, be brave and go for plural.

Also, keep an eye out for the his/her/their issue. Look at this example:

•None of the team has polished their boots.Try to avoid mixing singular verbs and plural possessive pronouns. As covered in the Beware section on the right, the English language doesn't cope with this very well, but as you often have the choice whether to treat none as singular or plural, you can avoid this failing. For example, write this instead:

•None of the team have polished their boots.


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The Words after As Well As Are Not

Part of the Subject

The words which follow terms like as well as, along with, and together with are not part of the subject. They do not compound the subject like and does. For example:

The king along with his sons is visiting tomorrow.The king and his sons are visiting tomorrow.

Either and Neither Are Singular

The pronouns either and neither take singular verbs. This often causes confusion because they naturally refer to two things. For example:

I'm not keen on beef or lamb, but either is preferable to tofu.Neither of the sisters is eligible to attend.


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Beware Modifiers Getting between the Subject and the Verb

Sometimes modifiers (shown in blue) will get between a subject and its verb, but you must not let these words interfere with the subject-verb agreement.

•A crate of sardines is more expensive than I thought.•Simon, who is the oldest of the four brothers and who, just as he did before last year's contest, has been suffering back spasms, is expected to take the first leg.•A container of nuts and bolts were found in the cellar.(Container is singular. It should be was.)

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