Grammatical Structures

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Introduction:
When writing in a foreign language it is important to know and to review the order
of the words in the sentences we make. Many times we translate directly from our
native language and we do not notice that the order of elements is not necessarily
the same. One of the main differences between the Romance and the Germanic
languages is based on the versatility of the former in the order of the words in the
sentence. Declinations allow a wide range of syntactic structures, whereas in
English, for instance, subjects and verbs should be closed together or otherwise it
would be impossible to understand the sentences. Then In this paper we define a
little how is the grammatical structure of English language, and how to use it
correctly.

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Verb forms:
What are the forms of the verb?
In English there are several different kinds of verbs. All verbs except modal
auxiliary ("helping") verbs have at least three distinct forms:

The simple (or uninflected or base) form: dance, play, type, hurry,
concentrate, communicate, pull, lives, cut, put, bring, run, sing, drink, speak,
write

The 3rd person singular present tense (or -s) form: dances, plays, types,
hurries, concentrates, communicates, pulls, lives, cuts, puts, brings, runs,
sings, drinks, speaks, writes

The present (or -ing) participle and gerund form: dancing, playing, typing,
hurrying, concentrating, communicating, pulling, living, cutting, putting,
running, bringing, singing, drinking, speaking, writing

A few irregular verbs have only these three forms -- verbs like cut and put. The
past tense and the past participle forms of these verbs are the same as the simple
forms.
Most verbs are regular. Regular verbs and some irregular verbs (like bring) have
four forms, the three above, a fourth form which serves as both the past tense and
the past participle form:

the past tense and past participle form: danced, played, typed, hurried,
concentrated, communicated, pulled, lived, brought

A small number of irregular verbs have four forms, the top three and a past tense
form which is distinct from the past participle form. The simple form of this kind of
irregular verb is used where a past participle form would be used.

the past tense form: ran

Some irregular verbs have five distinct forms: the three forms that all verbs have
and a separate past tense and past participle form.

the past tense form: sang, drank, spoke, wrote

the past participle form: sung, drunk, spoken, written

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Simple
Form

-s For
m

Past Tense -ing For

Form
m

Past Participle
Form

Regular

help
carry
clutch

Helped
Carried
Clutched

helping
carrying
clutching

helped
carried
clutched

Irregula
r

cut

helps
carries
clutche
s
cuts

Cut

cutting

cut

bring
run
fall
drink

brings
runs
falls
drinks

brought
ran
Fell
drank

bringing
running
falling
drinking

brought
run
fallen
drunk

The verb be:

The verb be has more forms than any other verb. It has a simple form, an -ing
participle form, a past participle form, a first person singular present tense form, a
third person present tense (-s) form, a plural present tense form, a singular past
tense form, and a plural past tense form:

the simple form: be

the -ing participle form: being

the past participle: been

the first person singular present tense form: am

the third person present tense (-s) form: is

the plural present tense form: are

the singular past tense form: was

the plural past tense form: were

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Pronouns:
There are several words that are used to replace nouns. They are
called pronouns. Pro in Greek means "for" or "in place of".

Personal pronouns:

Some pronouns are called personal pronouns because they take the place of
specific names of persons, places, or thing, as in: Has Fred arrived? Yes, he is
here. Here he is the personal pronoun that replaces Fred. As indicated in the table,
there are both subject and object personal pronouns as well as those that show
possession. In His house is the white and green one, his is a personal possessive
pronoun.

Personal pronouns: subjects, objects and possessives

Singular

Subject

Object

Possessive

First person

me

my, mine

Second person

You

you

your, yours

Third person

he, she, it (one)

him, her, it (one)

his, her, hers, its

(one's)

Plural

Subject

Object

Possessive

First person

We

us

our, ours

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Second person

You

you

your, yours

Third person

They

them

their, theirs*

*Some authorities give my, your, his, her, our, your and their as possessive
adjectives or pronominal adjectives, as they qualify nouns.
Some personal pronouns are formed by the addition of -self or -selves as a
suffix: myself, ourselves, yourself, himself, herself, itself, and themselves.

Demonstrative pronouns:

Some pronouns - this, that, these, those - refer to particular people or

things: This is mine, and that is yours. These are demonstrative pronouns. The
demonstrative words can also be used as adjectives: this house, those cars.

Indefinite pronouns:

Pronouns that refer to people or things in general are called indefinite pronouns.
Like the demonstrative pronouns, they can be used as adjectives: another day,
both animals, many weeks.

Relative and interrogative pronouns:

The words who, whose, whom, that, which, and what are called relative pronouns.
(The word that can be a demonstrative or a relative pronoun.) They create relative
clauses in a sentence: The committee, which met last night, discussed your
report. The words which met last night form a relative clause that describes the
subject of the main clause, the committee.
Sometimes a relative pronoun is used as the subject of a question such as Who
ate the pizza? Here it is classed as an interrogative pronoun. Interrogate means
"ask" (questions).

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Nouns and articles

Nouns can be particular or general: the house, a house. The
words the and a are
articles,
or,
in
more
technical
terms, determiners. A house can be any house, but the house is a quite definite
building. When a noun begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u, and occasionally, y) the
indefinite article a becomes an for the sake of easier pronunciation an apple,
an elephant, an orange. Sometimes an is used before words that start
with h, especially if the h is silent: an honorary degree. If the h is
sounded a is the standard form: an 'otel, a hotel.
Nouns can be singular or plural in number: cat, cats.

In some cases es is added to make nouns plural: dress, dresses.

Some nouns change their forms in the plural, without adding an s but by
changing or mutating a vowel: foot, feet; man, men; mouse, mice; goose,
geese.

Some nouns do not change at all in the plural: sheep, fowl.

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There are also group nouns, called noun phrases. This means that two or more
nouns, or a noun and an adjective, are put together to form what amounts to, or
works like, one noun: football stadium, rock concert, orange tree. In each case
certain nouns - football, rock, orange - are attached to other nouns, and each
modifies or describes the second noun in some way to convey a different kind of
object. A football and a football stadium are two entirely different things, though
they both have to do with the same game.
Some nouns are one-of-a-kind names: Suez Canal, Elvis Presley, Empire State
Building. Also called proper nouns, they are capitalized to set them off from general
nouns. Sometimes adjectives (words that describe nouns) are also capitalized.
This normally happens when the adjective is made from a proper noun, especially
a place or person: American literature, English countryside, Elizabethan theatre.
Proper nouns are contrasted with common nouns (naming words for general
classes of things which contain many individual examples). In fact many of the
nouns that we consider proper are still names for more than one individual, as with
the name of a model of car (like Ford Escort or VW Beetle, which might have been
produced in the millions). Like the abstract-concrete distinction, the commonproper categories may originate in Platonic philosophy, which contrasted the many
things in the real world with unique ideal originals of which they are imperfect
copies. It is of more practical concern, since it is meant to inform the written
representations of words (whether or not to use an initial capital). Unlike German
(which uses a capital for all nouns) or Norwegian (which never does), English has
a mixed and inconsistent system which changes over time, and which is confused
by the individual tendencies of writers. One problem is that a descriptive phrase
(like the "second world war) can become petrified into a title, so that we
write Second World War or World War Two.
And Queen Juliana is or was the queen of the Netherlands, but Queen Elizabeth II
is, to many of her subjects, simply the Queen, or even The Queen. In these cases,
the "correct" forms are not universally standard for all writers of English, but more a
matter of publishers' house styles.
Many introductions to English grammar for schoolchildren are to blame for
presenting this common-proper distinction as if it were very straightforward - by
referring only to well-behaved kinds of proper noun, such as personal names or the
names of cities, rivers and planets. In such introductions the distinction is
introduced chiefly to lead onto instruction about the use of capital letters in writing
such nouns.
Nouns are used in different ways: The dog barks. The man bit the dog. In the first
case, dog is the actor, or the one that initiates the action of the verb. In the second,
dog is acted upon. In The dog barks, dog is the subject of the verb. In the other
sentence, dog is the object of the verb.

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Sometimes a noun is the indirect object of a verb: He gave the dog a bone. Bone is
the direct object; it is what was given. Because it was given to the dog, dog is
considered the indirect object of the action.
Nouns can also be objects of prepositions - words like to, in, for, and by - so the
above sentence could read: He gave a bone to the dog. The words to the dog are
called a prepositional phrase.
Some verb forms take nouns as objects: Drinking milk is good for you. In this
sentence, milk is the object of the verbal form drinking. Such a combination of verb
and noun is called a verbal phrase.
Nouns can show possession: The dog's collar is on the table. The collar is
possessed, or owned, by the dog. All possession does not indicate ownership,
however. In The building's roof is black, the roof is on, but not owned by, the
building. Adding an apostrophe and an s to a noun shows possession ('): the cat's
tongue, the woman's purse. If the noun is plural or already has an s, then often
only an apostrophe need be added: the mothers' union (that is, a union of many
mothers). The word of may also be used to show possession: the top of the house,
the light of the candle, the Duke of Wellington.

Adjectives and adverbs

Adjectives and adverbs are descriptive words, sometimes called modifiers because
they restrict meaning. They add detail to statements. The difference between the
two is that adjectives modify only nouns, pronouns, and verb forms used as nouns;
adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
Adjective function: An adjective may be a single word: blue, tall, funny, warm. As
a single word, it may come before the noun - the blue sky - or after the verb - the
sky is blue. Adjectives may be positive (tall), comparative (taller) or superlative
(tallest). Adjective phrases usually follow the noun they describe: the girl with blond
hair. The phrase with blond hair describes girl. Adjective clauses also usually follow
the noun: The child who finds the most Easter eggs wins. The clause who finds the
most Easter eggs modifies child.

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Adverb function: The most common use of an adverb, of course, is to describe

verbs: He ran quickly. Actually, however, adverbs can modify anything but nouns or
verb forms used as nouns. Typically adverbs express:

time (now, then)

manner (happily, easily)

degree (less, more, very)

direction and place (there, up, down)

affirmation or negation (certainly, not)

cause and result (thus, consequently), and

Qualification or doubt (however, probably).

Although many adverbs are formed by adding ly to adjectives (quick, quickly,

happy, happily), adverbs have no characteristic form. They must be identified by
the function they perform in a sentence. In the sentence That is a fast car,
fast is an adjective. But in He ran fast, it is an adverb.
Certain adverbs (how, when, where, why, whenever, and wherever) are
called relative adverbs because they introduce relative clauses in a sentence: The
keys are upstairs where you left them. The clause where you left them modifies the
adverb upstairs.
Other adverbs are called conjunctive adverbs because they join one clause with
another. Some of these adverbs are: therefore, accordingly, besides, furthermore,
instead, meanwhile, and nevertheless. In the sentence He was tired; therefore he
stayed home, the word therefore modifies the clause of which it is a part and
connects that clause to the previous part of the sentence. Note that therefore is not
to be used as a conjunction, hence the semi-colon.

Connectors
A connector is a word that is used to join words or sentences.
And, as well as, but, or, yet, nevertheless, however, so that, as long as, while, until,
as if, because, when, after, though, before.

A boy and a girl

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An elephant and a giraffe

A toy or a book

The music was loud nevertheless it was enjoyable.

Types of connectors

Coordinating conjunctions:
Coordinating conjunctions join together clauses of equal importance.
Some examples of coordinating conjunctions are - and, but, or,
Use of 'and':
'And' is used as a conjunction when the words or phrases are of equal importance
and both conditions exist. Other words that can be used in place of and are:
moreover, in addition to, along with, plus, as well as, further more

Tom and Harry play hockey.

A lion and a fox live in this cave.

We need some gloves and a ball in addition to bats.

The soldiers rose moreover they cheered the leader.

We found the thief along with the bags.

The gurgling stream along with the howling wind added to the charm of the
place.

Use of 'but':
The conjunction 'but' is used to show a contradiction between two phrases. Let's
say the first phrase leads you to expect a certain event and the second phrase tells
you quite a contradictory outcome. In such an event, but, is used.

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Other words like: nevertheless, yet, however, can be used in place of 'but'

He ran, but he missed the bus.

She studied hard but could not score well in the test.

The hill was very steep but the old man could climb it easily.

Sharon fell from the horse nevertheless she did not cry.

The lion was hungry yet it did not attack Androcles.

He is from England however he speaks Chinese very well.

Use of 'Or':
When we need to express a choice between two words or phrases we use 'or'.
Here only one of the two conditions exists.
Example:
Would you take a cup of tea or coffee?
Shall we buy a book or a toy?
Sit on the bench or on the grass.
Are you tired or shall we go out for a walk?
We can learn to talk English or we can depend on sign language.
Correlative conjunctions:

Conjunctions used in pairs are correlative conjunctions

Either..... or

Either Peter or John has taken the book.

Neither.....nor

It is neither hot nor tasty.

Both.....and

My sister is both smart and intelligent.

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Whether..... or

Tell me whether you know the route or not.

Not only..... but also

Not only is she stupid but also stubborn.

Compound conjunctions

Compound conjunctions are groups of words that behave like conjunctions.

In order that, on condition that, provided that, as soon as
Conjunction

Usage

In order that

I bought all the books in order that you may study

On condition The teacher excused him on condition that he would not

that
repeat the mistake.
Even if

Sarah would not marry him even if he proposed to her.

So that

I kept away my work so that I could spend time with my

daughters

Provided that

You can take leave provided that you work overtime later

As though

Rex behaves as though he is the boss.

As well as

Monica as well as veronica was present there

As soon as

Mr. Ford plans to pay off his loan as soon as he gets his

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bonus.
As if

It looks as if there is going to be a storm.

Subordinating conjunction

A subordinating conjunction joins a clause to another on which it depends for its full
meaning. The chief subordinating conjunctions are after, because, if, that, though,
although, till, before, unless.

I will not go to the market if it rains.

The situation 'I will not go to the market' is dependent on the condition 'if it
rains'.

You could go and play after you have done the dishes.

King Midas was unhappy because his daughter turned to gold.

You must dig the earth till you find water.

Observe the use of connectors in these sentences:

Lydia likes to sing and dance when she is happy.

We can paint our house red or white but we must select a good painter.
Harry is intelligent however he is lazy. He must wake up or he will regret it.
I left the party because I was bored, moreover it was quite late.

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He was sad and tired along with being very hungry when a wizard
appeared and offered him food however he laid down some conditions.
He is cheerful though he has worked the whole day.
I allowed him in as I thought he was a friend but he tried to rob me.
You will do well if you study hard.
My daughters either watch TV or sleep on Sundays.
Susan is very fat but very active.
I met by friend in the park and invited her to tea.
A student must obey or he may leave.
Jane and Peter have been chosen to receive the guest.
After the trip Sam came to work but he was very tired.
Bring some sandwiches or you will be hungry.
They jumped over the stream and ran home.
The dog ran after the rabbit but could not catch him.
My aunt is ill so I will visit her tomorrow.
The show started as soon as the chief guest arrived.
You will enjoy the concert since you love music.
This horse will take you to the village you even if he is tired.
He was rowing the boat while I slept.
The bridge fell though it was made of stones.
You will pass if you work hard.
He will not try unless he is forced to.
We will come after we complete the work.
The old man cared for the puppy as though she was his baby.

References:

Sites for language study:

www.academicinfo.net/ling.html Academic Info's linguistics portal.

www.linguistlist.org - big resource site for linguistics
ccms.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung - Karen Chung's linguistics site

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www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/education.htm - Dick Hudson's educational linguistics

www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/tta/KS3.htm - Dick Hudson's Key Stage 3 grammar site
www.shu.ac.uk/wpw Working Papers on the Web for English studies.
www.englishbiz.co.uk Englishbiz - GCE language resources from Steve Campsall.
www.putlearningfirst.com/language GCE language guides from Duncan Grey.
http://languagelegend.blogspot.com Julie Blake's superb Weblog for language learning.
www.edufind.com Online resources for language study.
www.ling.lancs.ac.uk Lancaster University's linguistics

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