Introduction to Grammar

What is Grammar ? Grammar is one of the most evocative words in the whole of our educational vocabulary. To other people, grammar suggests discipline, rigour and correctness; a no nonsense approach to education, based on teaching children healthy habits of speech, writing, thought and behaviour.

Clause
is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb.
Independent Clause

Dependent Clause

Independent Clause
1.Simple sentences
are made up of one independent clause. The dog ran. E.g.
S V

2.Compound sentences
are made up of two(or sometimes more) independent clauses that are joined by a conjunction (such as and, but, or, nor and yet).

E.g.

The dog ran and its owner ran

after it.

3.Complex sentences
are made up of one or more independent clauses AND one or more dependent clauses.

E.g.

The dog that I saw ran.

Dependent clause

V
BACK

Dependent clause
have a subject and a verb, but
they DO NOT form complex sentences. They must be connected to an independent clause.

E.g.

that I saw

There are three kinds of Dependent Clauses:noun clauses, adjective uses, adverb clauses.

A. Noun clauses
like nouns, can be used in any
noun position.

B. Adjective clauses
like adjective, are used to
describe a noun.

A. Noun clauses
A noun clause has subject and a

verb. It is introduced by a clause marker and can be used in exactly the same way as a way as a noun.

As subjects
a. Johns jokes are very funny.(noun) b. What John says is very funny. (noun clause)

As objects
a. The man told us the address.(noun) b. The man told us where he lived. (noun clauses)

Noun Clause Makers

What, When, Where, Why, Who, Which, Whether, Whose, Whom, How many, How much, How, If , That

That
---- indicates a fact.
E.g.

I knew that she had to leave.

What

-----focuses on a fact.
E.g. Everyone was surprised at what he

brought for the party.

When

---indicates a time
E.g.

They told us when the plane would depart.

Where

---indicates a place.
E.g. Where they are going on their holiday is a secret.

Why

---indicates a reason.
E.g.

She wouldnt say why she arrived so late.

Who

---indicates a person.
E.g.

No one knows who the man is.

How

--- indicates a manner.

E.g. We are not sure how the jewellery was stolen.

Which

--- indicates a choice.

E.g.

I didnt know which book I was going to read.

If/whether

--- indicates alternatives.

E.g.

I didnt know if/whether I should bring my umbrella.

Whose

---indicates possession.
E.g.

I never found out whose car was parked outside our house.

Adjective clauses
An adjective clause does the work of an adjective.
They are usually introduced by relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, that, why, when or where.

Reduced adjective clauses

Adjective clause can be reduced to phases. Unlike a clause, a phase is a group of words that dose not contain a subject and a verb.
1. Adjective Phase. 2. Active and passive. 3. No reduced form.

1. Adjective phrases
An adjective clause can often be
reduced to an adjective phrase when the relative pronoun of the adjective clause is the subject of the clause. You can reduce the clause by either:
(1) (2) Omitting the be verb or

Changing the form of the verb to -ing.

Example (A) - Active voice

1.
The man who is singing has a new house. (Clause) The man singing has a new house. (Phrase) Dick has published a book which contains useful material. (Clause) Dick has published a book containing useful material. (Phrase)

2.

Example (B) - Passive voice

1. The article which was written by Miss Lam
received good comments. (Clause)

The article written by Miss Lam

received good comments. (Phrase)

2. The English skills which had been learnt

in this morning were out dated. (Clause)

The English skills learnt in this morning

were out dated. (Phrase)

Example (C) Subject + to be + adjective

The student who is clever said the English examination is easy. (Clause)

The student clever said the English examination is easy. (Phrase)

Example (D) Subject to be + noun

His name, which is Joe Yeung, makes whole class laughing. (clause)

His name, Joe Yeung, makes whole class laughing. (Phrase)

Example (E) Subject + to be + prepositional phrase

The Hello Kitty file that is on the table belongs to Dick. (Clause)

The Hello Kitty file on the table belongs to Dick. (Phrase)

BACK

2. Active and Passive

The ing form is used for the active voice, and the ed form is used for the passive voice.

(A) : verb - indicate a permanent

characteristic uses the -ing form

(Present) : The window which overlooks the harbour is broken.
The window overlooking the harbour is broken. The window which overlooked the harbour was broken. The window overlooking the harbour was broken.

(Past) :

(B) : verb - indicate an ongoing activity uses the -ing form

(Present progressive) :

The police who are investigating the case have found an important clue.

The police investigating the case have found an important clue.

(B) : verb - indicate an ongoing activity uses the -ing form

(Past progressive)
The police who were investigating the case have arrested the suspect.

The police investigating the case have arrested the suspect.

(C) : verb - used in the passive

uses the past participle form

E.g.
The intelligent student that was encouraged to participate the Maths competition. The intelligent student encouraged to participate the Maths competition. BACK

3. No reduced form
(A)
When the clause marker is in
object position it cannot be reduced to an adjective phrase. The video tape checking out of the KPS is due today. () The video tape that I checked out of the KPS is due today. () subject for the verb check. Video tape cannot check themselves out.

E.g.

Note : The subject video tape is not the

3. No reduced form
(B)
The adjective clause beginning with whose cannot be reduced without a change in meaning. The man whose son is studying in POHCKMC. () The man studying in POHCKMC. ()

E.g.

Note : Although the second sentence is

grammatically correct, the meaning of two sentence have changed.

3. No reduced form
(C)
The adjective clause beginning with a clause marker that takes the adverb position cannot be reduced to an adjective phrase. The place where Sharon lived in was collapsed. () The place living in was collapsed. ()

E.g.

Note : The place living in was collapsed

is incorrect because the place did not live in, Sharon did.

Type A Defining relative clause

identifies which person or thing we mean exactly.
Subject
People

Object

Possession

Who /Whom / Who / That That Which / that Which / that

whose

Animals / things

whose

Subject : people
E.g.

She is the woman who / that reads the news on TV.

BACK

Subject : animals / things

E.g.

Thats the kind of dog which / that makes a good pet.

BACK

Object : people
E.g.

She is the woman (who / whom / that) I saw on TV last night.

BACK

Object : animals / things

E.g.

Its the kind of dog (which / that) Id like to have.

BACK

Possession : people
E.g.

She is the woman whose car was stolen last night.

BACK

Possession : animals / things

E.g.

Thats the dog whose owner was arrested.

Type B Non-identifying relative clauses

gives additional information about a person or thing.

Subject People Animals / things Object

Possession

Who

Who /Whom

whose

Which

Which

whose

Subject : people
E.g.

His wife, who is French, speaks three languages.

BACK

Subject : animals / things

E.g. The computers, which have been on sales for mouths, proved to be unreliable.

BACK

Object : people
E.g.

His wife, who / whom / met in Paris, is French.

BACK

Object : animals / things

E.g.

The car, which we liked a lot, was much too expensive to buy.

BACK

Possession : people
E.g.

His wife, whose car was stolen, is French.

BACK

Possession : animals / things

E.g.

The panda, whose name was Ricky, was very playful.

That
That may replace the subject of a simple sentence. (Two simple sentence) The body is like a complex machine.

This machine automatically repairs itself.

(One complex sentence)

The body is like a complex that automatically repairs itself.

Who
Who may replace subject that refer to people. (Two simple sentences) The teacher was Miss Lam. She taught English in school. (One complex sentence) The teacher who taught English in school was Dr. Andrews .

which
Which may replace subjects that refer to things or ideas. (Two simple sentence) Aspirin is a common treatment for headaches.

Aspirin is a pain reliever.

(One complex sentences)

Aspirin, which is a pain reliever, is a common treatment for headaches.

whose
Whose may replace a possessive noun or adjective that modifies the subject of the clause. (Two simple sentence)

The woman thanked the doctor. His treatment had cured her.
(One complex sentence) The woman thanked the doctor whose treatment had cured her.

That or which
That or which may replace an object of

a verb to form an adjective clause.

(Two simple sentence) Many people believe in predictions. Astrologers make them. (One complex sentence) Many people believe on predictions that (which) astrologers make.

Who
Who(m) replace the object of a verb to form an adjective clause. (Two simple sentences)

The woman believe the astrologer. She had consulted the astrologer.
(One complex sentence)

The woman believe the astrologer who(m) she had consulted.

When
When usually modifies a noun that has the meaning of time or a time period (Two simple sentences)

The 1950s were a time. At that time, doctors still made house call.
(One complex sentence) The 1950s were a time when doctors still made house call.

Where
Where usually modifies a noun that has the meaning of a physical place or an abstract area or field. (Two simple sentences) We can expect continued progress in the medical field. New discoveries are made every day in the medical field. (One complex sentence) We can expect continued progress in the medical field, where new discoveries are made every day.