Adverbs modify verbs (except linking verbs) , adjectives, or other adverbs. many descriptive can be changed to adverbs by adding -ly to the adjective base. An adverb is a part of speech. It is any word that modifies any part of language other than a noun (modifiers of nouns are primarily adjectives and determiners). Adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives (including numbers), clauses, sentences and other adverbs.
Adverbs typically answer questions such as how?, in what way?, when?, where?, and to what extent?. In English, they often end in -ly. This function is called the adverbial function, and is realized not just by single words (i.e., adverbs) but by adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses.
Examples:
| ADJECTIVES | ADVERBS |
| Bright | Brightly |
| Careful | Carefully |
Note : The following words are also adverbs: so, very, almost, soon, often, fast, rather well, there, too. An adverbs answers the question:
How…?
John is reading carefully .
Maria Elena speaks Spanish fluently.
ADJECTIVES :
Definition
Adjectives fall into two categories: descriptive and limiting. Descriptive adjectives are those which describe the color, size, or quality of a person or thing (noun or pronoun). Limiting adjectives place restrictions on the words they modify (quantity, distance, possession, etc). Adjectives are words that describe or modify another person or thing in the sentence. The Articles — a, an, and the — are adjectives.
- the tall professor
- the lugubrious lieutenant
- a solid commitment
- a month's pay
- a six-year-old child
- the unhappiest, richest man
If a group of words containing a subject and verb acts as an adjective, it is called an Adjective Clause. My sister, who is much older than I am, is an engineer. If an adjective clause is stripped of its subject and verb, the resulting modifier becomes an Adjective Phrase: He is the man who is keeping my family in the poorhouse.
Before getting into other usage considerations, one general note about the use — or over-use — of adjectives: Adjectives are frail; don't ask them to do more work than they should. Let your broad-shouldered verbs and nouns do the hard work of description. Be particularly cautious in your use of adjectives that don't have much to say in the first place: interesting, beautiful, lovely, exciting. It is your job as a writer to create beauty and excitement and interest, and when you simply insist on its presence without showing it to your reader — well, you're convincing no one
Position of Adjectives
Unlike Adverbs, which often seem capable of popping up almost anywhere in a sentence, adjectives nearly always appear immediately before the noun or noun phrase that they modify. Sometimes they appear in a string of adjectives, and when they do, they appear in a set order according to category. (See Below.) When indefinite pronouns — such as something, someone, anybody — are modified by an adjective, the adjective comes after the pronoun:
Anyone capable of doing something horrible to someone nice should be punished.
Something wicked this way comes.
And there are certain adjectives that, in combination with certain words, are always "postpositive" (coming after the thing they modify):
The president elect, heir apparent to the Glitzy fortune, lives in
See, also, the note on a-adjectives, below, for the position of such words as "ablaze, aloof, aghast."
The degrees of comparison are known as the positive, the comparative, and the superlative. (Actually, only the comparative and superlative show degrees.) We use the comparative for comparing two things and the superlative for comparing three or more things. Notice that the word than frequently accompanies the comparative and the word the precedes the superlative. The inflected suffixes -er and -est suffice to form most comparatives and superlatives, although we need -ier and -iest when a two-syllable adjective ends in y (happier and happiest); otherwise we use more and most when an adjective has more than one syllable
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
| rich | richer | richest |
| lovely | lovelier | loveliest |
| beautiful | more beautiful | most beautiful |
Certain adjectives have irregular forms in the comparative and superlative degrees:
| Irregular Comparative and Superlative Forms | ||
| good | better | best |
| bad | worse | worst |
| little | less | least |
| much
| more | most |
| far | further | furthest |
Be careful not to form comparatives or superlatives of adjectives which already express an extreme of comparison — unique, for instance — although it probably is possible to form comparative forms of most adjectives: something can be more perfect, and someone can have a fuller figure. People who argue that one woman cannot be more pregnant than another have never been nine-months pregnant with twins.
Grammar's Response
According to Bryan Garner, "complete" is one of those adjectives that does not admit of comparative degrees. We could say, however, "more nearly complete." I am sure that I have not been consistent in my application of this principle in the Guide (I can hear myself, now, saying something like "less adequate" or "more preferable" or "less fatal"). Other adjectives that Garner would include in this list are as follows:
| absolute | impossible | principal |
| adequate | inevitable | stationary |
| chief | irrevocable | sufficient |
| complete | main | unanimous |
| devoid | manifest | unavoidable |
| entire | minor | unbroken |
| fatal | paramount | unique |
| final | perpetual | universal |
| ideal | preferable | whole |
Be careful, also, not to use more along with a comparative adjective formed with -er nor to use most along with a superlative adjective formed with -est (e.g., do not write that something is more heavier or most heaviest).
The as — as construction is used to create a comparison expressing equality:
- He is as foolish as he is large.
- She is as bright as her mother.
Premodifiers with Degrees of Adjectives
Both adverbs and adjectives in their comparative and superlative forms can be accompanied by premodifiers, single words and phrases, that intensify the degree.
- We were a lot more careful this time.
- He works a lot less carefully than the other jeweler in town.
- We like his work so much better.
- You'll get your watch back all the faster.
The same process can be used to downplay the degree:
- The weather this week has been somewhat better.
- He approaches his schoolwork a little less industriously than his brother does.
And sometimes a set phrase, usually an informal noun phrase, is used for this purpose:
- He arrived a whole lot sooner than we expected.
- That's a heck of a lot better.
If the intensifier very accompanies the superlative, a determiner is also required:
- She is wearing her very finest outfit for the interview.
- They're doing the very best they can.
Occasionally, the comparative or superlative form appears with a determiner and the thing being modified is understood:
- Of all the wines produced in
- The quicker you finish this project, the better.
- Of the two brothers, he is by far the faster.
MODAL AUXILIARIES
The modal auxiliaries have a number of different meanings. They are generally used to indicate something which is potential or uncertain. Remember that a modal is an auxiliary, and thus is never with do, does, or did. The modals include:
| PRESENT TENSE | PAST TENSE |
| Will | Would (used to) |
| Can | Could |
| May | Might |
| Shall | Should (ought to) (had better) |
| Must | (had to) |
NOTE : Words in parenthese ( ) indicate semi-modals. These have similar meanings to the modals, but are not grammatically the same.
I may go.
You may go.
He may go.
It may go.
We may go.
They may go.
He may have gone.
They may have gone.
He may be going.
They may be going.
He may have been going.
They may have been going.
Modals and related verb phrases add meanings to verbs. Below are some of those meanings:
Ability/Availability
future: will be able to
present: can, am/is/are able to
past: could, was/were able to
Requests
present/future: can, could, will, would
Permission
future: will be allowed to
present/future: may, can, could, am/is/are allowed to
past: could, was/were allowed to
Possibility
present/future: may, might, could
past: may have, might have, could have
Impossibility
present/future: couldn’t, can’t
past: couldn’t have
Advisability
present/future: should, ought to, had better
past: should have, ought to have, had better have
Expectation
present/future: should, ought to
past: should have, ought to have
Necessity
future: will have to
present/future: must, have to, has to
past: had to
Lack of Necessity
future: won’t have to
present/future: don’t have to, doesn’t have to
past: didn’t have to
Prohibition
present/future: must not, may not, cannot
past: could not
Logical Deduction (=Probability)
present: must, have to, has to
past: must have, have to have, has to have
SOCIAL MODALS
The choice of modal depends partly on the social situation.
We often use formal language with strangers (people we don’t know) and superiors (people with some power over us such as our employers, doctors, and teachers).
We often use informal language with our equals (our friends and family) and subordinates (people we have some power over such as our employees or children).
General requests (present and/or future):
Will you help me? (Informal Are you willing?)
Would you help me (Formal Are you willing?)
Can you help me? (Informal Are you able?)
Could you help me (Formal Are you able?)
Requests for permission (present and/or future):
May I leave the room? (Formal)
Might I leave the room? (Formal rarely used)
Could I leave the room? (Less formal
Can I leave the room? (Informal)
Expressing suggestions, advice, warnings, necessity (present and/or future):
The choice of modal depends partly on the urgency of the message or the authority of the speaker/writer or both.
Suggestions:
You could see the doctor.
You might see the doctor.
Advice:
You should see the doctor.
You ought to see the doctor.
Warning/strong advice:
You had better see the doctor.
Strong advice/necessity:
You have to see the doctor.
You have got to see the doctor.
You must see the doctor.
No choice:
You will see the doctor.
MODALS OF BELIEF (beliefs about present time)
The choice of modal depends partly on what the speaker or writer believes.
Someone is knocking at the door.
That could be Fred.
That might be Fred.
= It’s possible. I’m less than 50% sure.
That may be Fred.
= It’s possible. I’m less than 60% sure.
That should be Fred.
That ought to be Fred.
= I’m expecting Fred and I think he’s here.
That must be Fred.
That has to be Fred.
That has got to be Fred.
= It’s probably Fred. I have a good reason to believe it is Fred.
That will be Fred.
= I believe it is Fred. I’m about 99% sure.
That can’t be Mary.
That couldn’t be Mary.
= It’s impossible. I’m about 99% sure.
That is Fred.
= I know it’s Fred. I’m 100% sure.
MODALS OF BELIEF (beliefs about past time)
The choice of modal depends partly on what the speaker or writer believes.
Someone was knocking at the door.
That could have been Fred.
That might have been Fred.
= It’s possible. I’m less than 50% sure.
That may have been Fred.
= It’s possible. I’m less than 60% sure.
That must have been Fred.
That has to have been Fred.
That has got to have been Fred.
= It was probably Fred. I have a good reason to believe it was Fred.
That couldn’t have been Mary.
= It’s impossible. I’m about 99% sure.
That was Fred.
= I know it was Fred. I’m 100% sure.
MODALS OF BELIEF (beliefs about future time) The choice of modal depends partly on what the speaker or writer believes.
What will the weather be like tomorrow?
It could rain tomorrow.
It might rain tomorrow.
= It’s possible. I’m less than 50% sure.
It may rain tomorrow.
= It’s possible. I’m less than 60% sure.
It should rain tomorrow.
It ought to rain tomorrow.
= I expect it will rain.
It will rain tomorrow.
= I believe it is going to rain. I’m about 99% sure.
It couldn’t snow tomorrow.
= It’s impossible. I’m about 99% sure.NOUN
Late last year our neighbours bought a goat.
Portia White was an opera singer.
The bus inspector looked at all the passengers' passes.
According to Plutarch, the library at
Philosophy is of little comfort to the starving.
A noun can function in a sentence as a subject, a direct object, an indirect object, a subject complement, an object complement, an appositive, an adjective or an adverb.
Noun Gender
Many common nouns, like "engineer" or "teacher," can refer to men or women. Once, many English nouns would change form depending on their gender -- for example, a man was called an "author" while a woman was called an "authoress" -- but this use of gender-specific nouns is very rare today. Those that are still used occasionally tend to refer to occupational categories, as in the following sentences.
David Garrick was a very prominent eighteenth-century actor.
Sarah Siddons was at the height of her career as an actress in the 1780s.
The manager was trying to write a want ad, but he couldn't decide whether he was advertising for a "waiter" or a "waitress"
Noun Plurals
Most nouns change their form to indicate number by adding "-s" or "-es", as illustrated in the following pairs of sentences:
When Matthew was small he rarely told the truth if he thought he was going to be punished.
Many people do not believe that truths are self-evident.
As they walked through the silent house, they were startled by an unexpected echo.
I like to shout into the quarry and listen to the echoes that return.
He tripped over a box left carelessly in the hallway.
Since we are moving, we will need many boxes.
There are other nouns which form the plural by changing the last letter before adding "s". Some words ending in "f" form the plural by deleting "f" and adding "ves," and words ending in "y" form the plural by deleting the "y" and adding "ies," as in the following pairs of sentences:
The harbour at
There are several wharves in
The vacation my grandparents won includes trips to twelve European cities.
The children circled around the headmaster and shouted, "Are you a mouse or a man?"
The audience was shocked when all five men admitted that they were afraid of mice.
Other nouns form the plural irregularly. If English is your first language, you probably know most of these already: when in doubt, consult a good dictionary.
Possessive Nouns
In the possessive case, a noun or pronoun changes its form to show that it owns or is closely related to something else. Usually, nouns become possessive by adding a combination of an apostrophe and the letter "s."
You can form the possessive case of a singular noun that does not end in "s" by adding an apostrophe and "s," as in the following sentences:
The red suitcase is Cassandra's.
The only luggage that was lost was the prime minister's.
The exhausted recruits were woken before dawn by the drill sergeant's screams.
The miner's face was covered in coal dust.
You can form the possessive case of a singular noun that ends in "s" by adding an apostrophe alone or by adding an apostrophe and "s," as in the following examples:
The bus's seats are very uncomfortable.
The bus' seats are very uncomfortable.
The film crew accidentally crushed the platypus's eggs.
The film crew accidentally crushed the platypus' eggs.
Felicia Hemans's poetry was once more popular than Lord Byron's.
Felicia Hemans' poetry was once more popular than Lord Byron's.
You can form the possessive case of a plural noun that does not end in "s" by adding an apostrophe and a "s," as in the following examples:
The children's mittens were scattered on the floor of the porch.
The sheep's pen was mucked out every day.
Since we have a complex appeal process, a jury's verdict is not always final.
The men's hockey team will be playing as soon as the women's team is finished.
The hunter followed the moose's trail all morning but lost it in the afternoon.
You can form the possessive case of a plural noun that does end in "s" by adding an apostrophe:
The concert was interrupted by the dogs' barking, the ducks' quacking, and the babies' squalling.
The janitors' room is downstairs and to the left.
My uncle spent many hours trying to locate the squirrels' nest.
The archivist quickly finished repairing the diaries' bindings.
Religion is usually the subject of the roommates' many late night debates.
Using Possessive Nouns
When you read the following sentences, you will notice that a noun in the possessive case frequently functions as an adjective modifying another noun:
The miner's face was covered in coal dust.
Here the possessive noun "miner's" is used to modify the noun "face" and together with the article "the," they make up the noun phrase that is the sentence's subject.
The concert was interrupted by the dogs' barking, the ducks' quacking, and the babies' squalling.
In this sentence, each possessive noun modifies a gerund. The possessive noun "dogs"' modifies "barking," "ducks"' modifies "quacking," and "babies"' modifies "squalling."
The film crew accidentally crushed the platypus's eggs.
In this example the possessive noun "platypus's" modifies the noun "eggs" and the noun phrase "the platypus's eggs" is the direct object of the verb "crushed."
My uncle spent many hours trying to locate the squirrels' nest.
In this sentence the possessive noun "squirrels"' is used to modify the noun "nest" and the noun phrase "the squirrels' nest" is the object of the infinitive phrase "to locate."
Types Of Nouns
There are many different types of nouns. As you know, you capitalise some nouns, such as "
If you are interested in the details of these different types, you can read about them in the following sections.
Proper Nouns
You always write a proper noun with a capital letter, since the noun represents the name of a specific person, place, or thing. The names of days of the week, months, historical documents, institutions, organisations, religions, their holy texts and their adherents are proper nouns. A proper noun is the opposite of a common noun
In each of the following sentences, the proper nouns are highlighted:
The Marroons were transported from
Many people dread Monday mornings.
Beltane is celebrated on the first of May.
Abraham appears in the Talmud and in the Koran.
Last year, I had a Baptist, a Buddhist, and a Gardnerian Witch as roommates.
Common Nouns
A common noun is a noun referring to a person, place, or thing in a general sense -- usually, you should write it with a capital letter only when it begins a sentence. A common noun is the opposite of a proper noun.
In each of the following sentences, the common nouns are highlighted:
According to the sign, the nearest town is 60 miles away.
All the gardens in the neighbourhood were invaded by beetles this summer.
I don't understand why some people insist on having six different kinds of mustard in their cupboards.
The road crew was startled by the sight of three large moose crossing the road.
Many child-care workers are underpaid.
Sometimes you will make proper nouns out of common nouns, as in the following examples:
The tenants in the Garnet Apartments are appealing the large and sudden increase in their rent.
The meals in the Bouncing Bean Restaurant are less expensive than meals in ordinary restaurants.
Many witches refer to the Renaissance as the Burning Times.
The Diary of Anne Frank is often a child's first introduction to the history of the Holocaust.
Concrete Nouns
A concrete noun is a noun which names anything (or anyone) that you can perceive through your physical senses: touch, sight, taste, hearing, or smell. A concrete noun is the opposite of a abstract noun.
The highlighted words in the following sentences are all concrete nouns:
The judge handed the files to the clerk.
Whenever they take the dog to the beach, it spends hours chasing waves.
The real estate agent urged the couple to buy the second house because it had new shingles.
As the car drove past the park, the thump of a disco tune overwhelmed the string quartet's rendition of a minuet.
The book binder replaced the flimsy paper cover with a sturdy, cloth-covered board.
Abstract Nouns
An abstract noun is a noun which names anything which you can not perceive through your five physical senses, and is the opposite of a concrete noun. The highlighted words in the following sentences are all abstract nouns:
Buying the fire extinguisher was an afterthought.
Tillie is amused by people who are nostalgic about childhood.
Justice often seems to slip out of our grasp.
Some scientists believe that schizophrenia is transmitted genetically.
Countable Nouns
A countable noun (or count noun) is a noun with both a singular and a plural form, and it names anything (or anyone) that you can count. You can make a countable noun plural and attach it to a plural verb in a sentence. Countable nouns are the opposite of non-countable nouns and collective nouns.
In each of the following sentences, the highlighted words are countable nouns:
We painted the table red and the chairs blue.
Since he inherited his aunt's library, Jerome spends every weekend indexing his books.
Miriam found six silver dollars in the toe of a sock.
The oak tree lost three branches in the hurricane.
Over the course of twenty-seven years, Martha Ballad delivered just over eight hundred babies.
Non-Countable Nouns
A non-countable noun (or mass noun) is a noun which does not have a plural form, and which refers to something that you could (or would) not usually count. A non-countable noun always takes a singular verb in a sentence. Non-countable nouns are similar to collective nouns, and are the opposite of countable nouns.
The highlighted words in the following sentences are non-countable nouns:
Joseph Priestly discovered oxygen.
The word "oxygen" cannot normally be made plural.
Oxygen is essential to human life.
Since "oxygen" is a non-countable noun, it takes the singular verb "is" rather than the plural verb "are."
We decided to sell the furniture rather than take it with us when we moved.
You cannot make the noun "furniture" plural.
The furniture is heaped in the middle of the room.
Since "furniture" is a non-countable noun, it takes a singular verb, "is heaped."
The crew spread the gravel over the roadbed.
You cannot make the non-countable noun "gravel" plural.
Gravel is more expensive than I thought.
Since "gravel" is a non-countable noun, it takes the singular verb form "is."
Collective Nouns
A collective noun is a noun naming a group of things, animals, or persons. You could count the individual members of the group, but you usually think of the group as a whole is generally as one unit. You need to be able to recognise collective nouns in order to maintain subject-verb agreement. A collective noun is similar to a non-countable noun, and is roughly the opposite of a countable noun.
In each of the following sentences, the highlighted word is a collective noun:
The flock of geese spends most of its time in the pasture.
The collective noun "flock" takes the singular verb "spends."
The jury is dining on take-out chicken tonight.
In this example the collective noun "jury" is the subject of the singular compound verb "is dining."
The steering committee meets every Wednesday afternoon.
Here the collective noun "committee" takes a singular verb, "meets."
The class was startled by the bursting light bulb.
In this sentence the word "class" is a collective noun and takes the singular compound verb "was startled."
ARTICLES
An article (abbreviated art) is a word that combines with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun. Articles specify the grammatical definiteness of the noun, in some languages extending to volume or numerical scope. The articles in the English language are the, a, and an.
Among the classical parts of speech, articles are considered a special category of adjectives. Some modern linguists prefer to classify them within a separate part of speech, determiners.
In languages that employ articles, every common noun, with some exceptions, is expressed with a certain definiteness (e.g., definite or indefinite), just as many languages express every noun with a certain grammatical number (e.g., singular or plural). Every noun must be accompanied by the article, if any, corresponding to its definiteness, and the lack of an article (considered a zero article) itself specifies a certain definiteness. This is in contrast to other adjectives and determiners, which are typically optional. This obligatory nature of articles makes them among the most common words in many languages—in English, for example, the most frequent word is the
Types
Articles are usually characterized as either definite or indefinite.[2] A few languages with well-developed systems of articles may distinguish additional subtypes.
Within each type, languages may have various forms of each article, according to grammatical attributes such as gender, number, or case, or according to adjacent sounds.
Definite article
A definite article indicates that its noun is a particular one (or ones) identifiable to the listener. It may be the same thing that the speaker has already mentioned, or it may be something uniquely specified. The definite article in English is the.
The children knew the fastest way home.
Indefinite article
An indefinite article indicates that its noun is not yet a particular one (or ones) identifiable to the listener. It may be something that the speaker is mentioning for the first time, or its precise identity may be irrelevant or hypothetical, or the speaker may be making a general statement about any such thing. English uses a or an (depending on the initial sound of the next word) as its indefinite article.
She had a house so large that an elephant would get lost without a map.
Partitive article
A partitive article is a type of indefinite article used with a mass noun such as water, to indicate a non-specific quantity of it. Partitive articles are used in French and Italian in addition to definite and indefinite articles. The nearest equivalent in English is some, although this is considered a determiner and not an article.
French: Vous-voulez du café ?
Do you want (some) coffee?
See also more information about the French partitive article.
Negative article
A negative article specifies none of its noun, and can thus be regarded as neither definite nor indefinite. On the other hand, some consider such a word to be a simple determiner rather than an article. In English, this function is fulfilled by no.
No man is an island.
Zero article
The zero article is the absence of an article. In languages having a definite article, the lack of an article specifically indicates that the noun is indefinite. Linguists interested in X-bar theory causally link zero articles to nouns lacking a determiner.[3] In English, the zero article rather than the indefinite is used with plurals and mass nouns.
Visitors walked in mud.
| Articles used in the world's most widely spoken languages
| |||
| Language | definite article | indefinite article | partitive article |
| (none) | | ||
| the | a, an | | |
| der, die, das
| ein, eine, ein | | |
| de, het
| een, 'n | | |
| el, la
| un, una
| | |
| o, a
| um, uma
| | |
| le, la, l'
| un, une
| du, de la
| |
| il, lo, la, l'
| un, uno, una, un' |
| |
In the above examples, the article always precedes its noun. In some languages, however, the definite article is not always a separate word, but may be postfixed, attached to the end of its noun as a suffix. For example,
- Albanian: plis, a white fez, plisi the white fez
- Romanian: drum, road; drumul, the road
- Icelandic: hestur, horse; hesturinn, the horse
- Norwegian: stol, chair; stolen, the chair
- Swedish: hus house; huset the house
- Bulgarian: стол stol, chair; столът stolǎt, the chair (subject); стола stola, the chair (object)
- Macedonian: столот (stolot) the chair, столов (stolov) this chair, столон (stolon) that chair
CONDITIONAL SENTENCES
The modals will, would, can, and could often appear in conditional sentences. Usually conditional sentences contain the word I if. There are two types of conditionals : the real (factual and habitual) and the unreal (contrary to fact or hyphothetical). The real, or “future possible” as it is sometimes called, is used when the speaker expresses an action or situation which usually occurs, or will occur if the circumstances in the main clause are met.
Hyphothetical situation: If I am not planning anything for this evening, when someone asks me if I want to go to the movies, I say :
If I have the time, I will go
x y
(I will go unless I don’t have time)
(If X is true, then Y is true)
If my headache disappears, we can play tennis
(I will play tennis unless I have a headache)
However, the unreal condition expresses a situation (past, present, or future) that would take place or would have taken place if the circumstances expressed were or had been different now or in the past.
Hypothetical situation : If I don’t have time to go to the movies, but I actually want to go, I say :
If I had the time, I would go.
(I know I don’t have time, and therefore, I can’t go to the movies.)
This sentence is contrary to fact because I cannot go.
If today were Saturday, we could go to the beach.
(Today is not Saturday, so we can’t go to the beach)
The if clause can come first or last in the sentence with no change in meaning. Notice that when the if clause comes first, it is followed be a comma.
If we didn’t have to study, we could go out tonight.
OR
We could go out tonight If we didn’t have to study
(Both sentences mean: we can’t go out tonight because we have to study)
NOTE : The word if is generally not followed directly by the modal; the modal appears in the other part of the sentence unless there are two modals in one sentence.
| If + subject + conjugated verb… + modal … |
OR
| Subject + modal…+ if…+ conjugated verb… |
NOTE : In the unreal condition, the past tense form of be is always were in a conditional sentence; it can never be was in correct English.
| If I were … If we were … If you were … If you were … If he were … If she were … If they were … If it were … |
