Teach English in Zhongliang Zhen - Tianshui Shi

A simple sentence consists of a subject and a verb. A subject is the doer of an action. A verb is an action done. For example: The teacher came. In the above example the teacher is the doer of an action. The action done is came. Hence The teacher is the subject and came is the action done. Many sentences also contain an object. An object is a noun to which the action is done. For example: The doctor performed a surgery. In the above example the doctor is the doer of an action. The action done is performed. Surgery is the thing on which the action was applied. The doctor is the subject, performed is the verb and a surgery is the object. The parts of speech are categorised as nouns, adjectives, articles, verbs, adverbs, gerunds, pronouns, prepositions and conjunctions. Noun: A noun names people, animals, places, things, qualities, states. -Nouns are classified into five categories: 1. Common noun: It is the name of a group of similar things. They do not start with a capital letter unless the sentence begins with a common noun Example: doctor, teacher, table, apple, pen 2. Proper noun: It is the name of a place, person or object. They start with a capital letter. Example: Africa, London, George, Tom 3. Compound noun: It is a noun which combines two nouns. Example: post box, sunshine, bus stop 4. Abstract noun: It is something which is experienced as an idea and cannot be touched. Example: intelligence, Sorrow, Happiness 5. Collective noun: It is a group of individuals mentioned as one entity. Example: herd, flock -Adjectives: Adjectives describe nouns such as people or things. Example: Tom is very happy. Happy is the word used to describe Tom in this particular sentence. Happy here is the adjective. 1. Comparatives: Comparatives are used when we want to compare two things. Example: Tom runs faster than Nick. In the example, faster is the word used to compare how two people run. 2. Superlatives: Superlatives are used when we compare more than two entities. Example: Tom is the fastest runner in the class. Fastest is the superlative word in this example. In the entire class, Tom runs the fastest. -Articles: There are three articles: the, an and a. 1. The article a and an is used to refer to any member of the group. A should be used when the noun is singular and starts with a consonant or with a noun that begins with a consonant sound. Example: This is a pen. This school must have a uniform. (uniform sounds like yoo-ni-form) an is used when the noun is singular and starts with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u). Example: This is an orange. 2. The article the is used to specify a particular noun. It can be used when the noun is plural or singular. Example: The doctor in this hospital treats his patients well. The is also used when the noun is unique. Example: The sun rises in the east. The sun is a unique entity. There is only one sun known to us. Therefore, the is used before sun. -Verb: verb is a doing word. Sometimes it also refers to a state of action. 1. Action verbs: go, come, eat, play, sleep 2. State verbs: appear, feel, be Verbs are categorised as transitive or intransitive verb. 1. Transitive verb: In some sentences the object is directly followed by the verb. The action is done to the object. These verbs are called transitive verbs. Example: Fred studied physics. In the above example, studied is the verb and the action is done to physics. In the sentence studied is used as a transitive verb. 2. Intransitive verb: If the verb is not followed by the object, it is an intransitive verb. Some intransitive verbs are go, come, sleep, arrive Example: Jack went to office. In the above example, the action is not done on any object. Jack didn?t went anything. Sometimes a transitive verb can also be used as an intransitive verb. Example: Jack is studying. There is no object in the sentence. Jack is just studying. Studying here is used as an intransitive verb. 3. Infinitives: It refers to the action as a whole and is formed by preceding the base form with to. Example: I went to pray in the temple. Pray is the base form. Went is the infinitive verb. Why did I go to the temple? I went to pray. So, the base form is the reason why the action happened. 4. Auxiliary verb: An auxiliary verb helps form a structure to the sentence by combining with other verbs. Example: Tom is going to a movie. The auxiliary verb in the example is is. -Adverbs: They add information to the action, state or quality denoted by a verb. There are five types of adverbs: 1. Manner: examples are slowly, quickly, tidily, thoroughly, gently 2. Place: above, below 3. Time: now, then, soon 4. Degree: very, much, quite 5. Frequency: usually, always, sometimes Example: Tom runs fast. In the above example, fast is an adverb. -Gerund: Gerund is an ing form of a verb which is used as a noun. Example: Smoking is bad for your health. In this example smoking is used as a noun. -Pronouns are words that are used in place of a noun. She, he, it, we are some examples of a pronoun. There are four types of pronouns: 1. Personal: I, me, our, she, he, it 2. Possessive: mine, yours, his, hers, theirs 3. Reflexive: myself, yourself, themselves 4. Relative: that, which, whose -Preposition: Preposition shows a relationship between a noun or pronoun and some other words in a sentence. There are three main types. 1. Time/date: at, from, since, during, after Example: I came to your house at 8 o?clock. 2. Movement: from, to, onto, through, over Example: The sheep jumped over the fence. 3. Place/position: underneath, below, beside, between, in Example: There is bread in the bag -Conjunctions: They join words or groups in a sentence. And, or, but, nor, yet. Example: He plays rugby and football. Some conjunctions are used as a pair of words like both?and, neither..nor, either?.or, not only?.but also etc. Example: Neither Radha nor Priya knows the solution to the problem. Conjunctions are used to join clauses of sentences. Example: The movie started as soon as the lights went off.