1. Parts of Speech

1.1. Nouns

Nouns are words that name people, places, things, ideas, or concepts. They are one of the fundamental building blocks of English grammar and are used in almost every sentence.

Types of Nouns

1. Common Nouns: general names (e.g., dog, city, teacher).

2. Proper Nouns: specific names (e.g., London, Sarah, Google). Always capitalized.

3. Countable Nouns: can be counted (e.g., apple/apples, chair/chairs).

4. Uncountable Nouns: cannot be counted (e.g., water, information, rice).

5. Concrete Nouns: refer to physical things (e.g., book, table, car).

6. Abstract Nouns: refer to ideas or qualities (e.g., love, freedom, happiness).

7. Collective Nouns: refer to groups (e.g., team, family, audience).

Plural Rules

Most nouns form the plural by adding -s (e.g., cat → cats).

Nouns ending in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, or -z add -es (e.g., box → boxes).

Nouns ending in a consonant + y change y to i and add -es (e.g., baby → babies).

Irregular plurals must be memorized (e.g., man → men, child → children, mouse → mice).

Nouns and Articles

Nouns are often preceded by articles:

- 'a' before words starting with a consonant sound (a dog).

- 'an' before words starting with a vowel sound (an apple).

- 'the' for specific nouns already known to the listener/reader.

Examples

• The dog is barking. (Common noun)
• Sarah is my friend. (Proper noun)
• I have two apples. (Countable noun)
• We need information. (Uncountable noun)
• Freedom is important. (Abstract noun)
• The team is winning. (Collective noun)

1.2. Pronouns

Pronouns are words that replace nouns to avoid repetition and simplify sentences. They help us speak and write more fluently and efficiently.

Types of Pronouns

1. Personal Pronouns: refer to people or things (e.g., I, you, he, she, it, we, they).

2. Possessive Pronouns: show ownership (e.g., mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs).

3. Reflexive Pronouns: reflect the subject (e.g., myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves).

4. Relative Pronouns: introduce relative clauses (e.g., who, whom, whose, which, that).

5. Demonstrative Pronouns: point to specific things (e.g., this, that, these, those).

6. Indefinite Pronouns: refer to non-specific things or people (e.g., someone, anyone, everybody, nothing).

7. Interrogative Pronouns: used to ask questions (e.g., who, what, which, whom, whose).

Personal Pronouns Table

Subject | Object

I      | me

You    | you

He     | him

She    | her

It     | it

We     | us

They   | them

Examples

• She is my friend. (Personal pronoun)
• This book is mine. (Possessive pronoun)
• He hurt himself. (Reflexive pronoun)
• The man who called is my uncle. (Relative pronoun)
• These are my shoes. (Demonstrative pronoun)
• Someone is at the door. (Indefinite pronoun)
• Who is your teacher? (Interrogative pronoun)

1.3. Adjectives

Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns or pronouns. They provide more information about a person, place, thing, or idea, such as size, color, quantity, or quality.

Types of Adjectives

1. Descriptive Adjectives: describe qualities (e.g., beautiful, tall, blue).

2. Quantitative Adjectives: indicate quantity (e.g., some, many, few, ten).

3. Demonstrative Adjectives: point out specific things (e.g., this, that, these, those).

4. Possessive Adjectives: show ownership (e.g., my, your, his, her, its, our, their).

5. Interrogative Adjectives: used in questions (e.g., which, what, whose).

6. Indefinite Adjectives: refer to non-specific items (e.g., any, several, few, many).

Order of Adjectives

When using multiple adjectives before a noun, they usually follow this order:
1. Quantity
2. Opinion
3. Size
4. Age
5. Shape
6. Color
7. Origin
8. Material
9. Purpose
Example: She bought three beautiful small old round red Spanish leather riding boots.

Comparatives and Superlatives

Use comparative adjectives to compare two things (e.g., taller, more expensive).

Use superlative adjectives to compare three or more things (e.g., tallest, most expensive).

Examples

• The red car is fast. (Descriptive)
• I have three dogs. (Quantitative)
• This book is interesting. (Demonstrative)
• My house is big. (Possessive)
• Which jacket is yours? (Interrogative)
• Several people arrived late. (Indefinite)
• She is taller than me. (Comparative)
• It was the most exciting trip ever. (Superlative)

1.4. Adverbs

Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They often describe how, when, where, or to what extent something happens.

Types of Adverbs

1. Adverbs of Manner: describe how something happens (e.g., quickly, carefully, well).

2. Adverbs of Time: describe when something happens (e.g., now, yesterday, soon).

3. Adverbs of Place: describe where something happens (e.g., here, there, everywhere).

4. Adverbs of Frequency: describe how often something happens (e.g., always, sometimes, never).

5. Adverbs of Degree: describe intensity or extent (e.g., very, quite, almost).

6. Adverbs of Certainty: express how sure we are about something (e.g., definitely, probably).

Position of Adverbs

Adverbs can appear in different parts of a sentence:
- Beginning: Usually, I drink coffee in the morning.
- Middle (before the main verb): I always take the train.
- End: She sings beautifully.

Forming Adverbs

Many adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective (e.g., slow → slowly).

Some adverbs are irregular (e.g., good → well, fast → fast).

Examples

• He runs quickly. (Manner)
• We met yesterday. (Time)
• She looked everywhere. (Place)
• They often visit us. (Frequency)
• It's very cold today. (Degree)
• She will probably come later. (Certainty)

1.5. Verbs

Verbs are action or state-of-being words. They are the core of a sentence and show what the subject is doing or what state it is in.

Types of Verbs

1. Action Verbs: express physical or mental actions (e.g., run, think, write).

2. Linking Verbs: connect the subject to more information (e.g., be, seem, become).

3. Auxiliary Verbs: help form verb tenses or voice (e.g., be, have, do).

4. Modal Verbs: express ability, possibility, permission, or obligation (e.g., can, should, must).

5. Transitive Verbs: take a direct object (e.g., I read a book).

6. Intransitive Verbs: do not take a direct object (e.g., She sleeps peacefully).

Regular and Irregular Verbs

Regular verbs form the past tense by adding -ed (e.g., walk → walked).

Irregular verbs do not follow a standard pattern (e.g., go → went, eat → ate).

Basic Verb Tenses

Present: I walk to school.

Past: I walked to school.

Future: I will walk to school.

Examples

• She writes every day. (Action verb)
• He is tired. (Linking verb)
• They have finished the project. (Auxiliary verb)
• You must study harder. (Modal verb)
• I bought a car. (Transitive verb)
• He sleeps late on weekends. (Intransitive verb)

1.6. Prepositions

Prepositions are words that show relationships between nouns or pronouns and other words in a sentence. They often indicate time, place, direction, or introduce objects.

Types of Prepositions

1. Prepositions of Time: indicate when something happens (e.g., at, on, in, since, for).

2. Prepositions of Place/Location: show the position of something (e.g., at, in, on, under, next to).

3. Prepositions of Movement/Direction: show movement from one place to another (e.g., to, into, onto, out of).

4. Prepositions of Cause/Reason: explain the reason (e.g., because of, due to, thanks to).

5. Prepositional Phrases: groups of words that begin with a preposition and end with a noun/pronoun (e.g., in front of, next to, in spite of).

Use and Placement

Prepositions are usually followed by a noun or pronoun, forming a prepositional phrase:
- She sat on the chair.
- We arrived at the airport.
- The book is under the table.

Examples

• We’ll meet at 5 PM. (Time)
• The keys are on the table. (Place)
• He walked into the room. (Movement)
• The match was canceled due to rain. (Cause)
• She stood in front of the mirror. (Prepositional phrase)

1.7. Conjunctions

Conjunctions are words used to connect words, phrases, or clauses. They help build more complex and coherent sentences.

Types of Conjunctions

1. Coordinating Conjunctions: connect words or groups of words that are grammatically equal. (e.g., and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet)

2. Subordinating Conjunctions: connect a dependent clause to an independent clause. (e.g., because, although, since, unless, while)

3. Correlative Conjunctions: pairs of conjunctions used together. (e.g., either...or, neither...nor, not only...but also)

Examples

• I like tea and coffee. (Coordinating)
• She was tired, but she finished the work. (Coordinating)
• I'll call you when I arrive. (Subordinating)
• Because it was raining, we stayed indoors. (Subordinating)
• Either you come with us or you stay here. (Correlative)
• Not only is he smart, but he’s also kind. (Correlative)

1.8. Articles

Articles are words used before nouns to define whether the noun is specific or general. English has two types of articles: definite and indefinite.

Types of Articles

1. Definite Article: 'the' – refers to a specific item or known noun.

2. Indefinite Articles: 'a' and 'an' – refer to a non-specific or unknown noun.

Usage

- Use 'a' before words that begin with a consonant sound (e.g., a cat, a university).

- Use 'an' before words that begin with a vowel sound (e.g., an apple, an hour).

- Use 'the' when referring to something specific or previously mentioned (e.g., the book on the table).

Zero Article (No Article)

In some cases, no article is used, especially with:

- Plural or uncountable nouns when speaking in general (e.g., Books are expensive. Information is useful.)

- Proper nouns (e.g., I visited Spain. She works at Google.)

Examples

• I saw a dog in the park. (Indefinite + Definite)
• She bought an umbrella. (Indefinite: vowel sound)
• He is reading the newspaper. (Definite)
• Books can be expensive. (Zero article – general)
• She lives in Canada. (Zero article – proper noun)

1.9. Determiners

Determiners are words placed in front of nouns to clarify what the noun refers to. They help specify quantity, possession, definiteness, and more.

Types of Determiners

1. Articles: a, an, the (already covered in section 1.8).

2. Demonstratives: this, that, these, those (e.g., This car is new.)

3. Possessives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their (e.g., Her bag is blue.)

4. Quantifiers: some, any, much, many, few, little, a lot of (e.g., I have some time.)

5. Numbers: one, two, three, etc. (e.g., She has two cats.)

6. Distributives: each, every, either, neither (e.g., Every child needs love.)

7. Interrogatives: which, what, whose (e.g., Which book do you want?)

8. Indefinite Determiners: all, both, several, enough, etc. (e.g., Both answers are correct.)

Position

Determiners always come before a noun or before any adjectives describing the noun:

e.g., Her new red dress is beautiful.

Examples

• This phone is mine. (Demonstrative)
• His car is very fast. (Possessive)
• I need some help. (Quantifier)
• They invited three people. (Number)
• Each student has a textbook. (Distributive)
• Which shirt do you prefer? (Interrogative)
• All students must pass the exam. (Indefinite)