Parts of Speech

In English, words are used in one of eight parts of speech: noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, conjunction, preposition, and interjection. This table includes an explanation and examples of each of the eight parts of speech:

English Word Order

The simplest level of English word order within a sentence is that subjects come first followed by verbs and then direct objects.

When you have more complicated sentences, use the following general order.

When an English sentence includes more than one adjective modifying a given noun, the adjectives have a hierarchy you should follow. You should, however, keep a string of adjectives to two or three. The example includes a longer string of adjectives simply to clarify the word order. Using this table, you can see that “the small thin Methodist girl…” would be correct but “the young French small girl…” would be incorrect.

Some languages, such as Spanish, insert “no” before a verb to create a negative sentence. In English, the negative is often indicated by placing “not” after the verb or in a contraction with the verb.

Count and Noncount Nouns

Nouns that name separate things or people that you can count are called count nouns. Nouns that name things that cannot be counted unless additional words are added are called noncount nouns. You need to understand count and noncount nouns in order to use the nouns correctly with articles, in singular and plural formations, and in other situations. Some nouns can serve as either count or noncount nouns.

Articles

In English, nouns are identified or quantified by determiners. Articles, such as a, an, and the, are one type of determiner. Use the following guidelines to alleviate confusion regarding whether to use an article or which article to use.

• Use a and an with nonspecific or indefinite singular count nouns and some proper nouns where you do not have enough information to be more specific. Use a before nouns beginning with a consonant sound and an before nouns beginning with a vowel sound.

• Use every and each with singular count nouns and some proper nouns.

• Use this and that with singular count and noncount nouns.

• Use any, enough, and some with nonspecific or indefinite plural nouns (count or noncount).

• Use (a) little and much with noncount nouns.

• Use the with noncount nouns and singular and plural count nouns.

• Use both, (a) few, many, several, these, and those with plural count nouns.

Singulars and Plurals

English count nouns have singular and plural forms. Typically, these nouns are formed by adding –s or –es. Words that end in –ch, –sh, or –s usually require the addition of –es to form the plural. Atypical plurals are formed in various ways, such as those shown in the following table.

Proper nouns are typically either singular or plural. Plural proper nouns usually have no singular form, and singular proper nouns usually have no plural form.

Noncount nouns typically have only one form that is basically a singular form. To quantify them, you can add a preceding phrase.

Verb Tenses

You can practice conjugating many English verbs to increase your awareness of verb tenses. Use this format for the basic conjugation:

• I laugh at Millie.
• You laugh at Millie.
• He/She/It laughs at Millie.
• We laugh at Millie.
• You laugh at Millie.
• They laugh at Millie.

You can also practice completing these five forms of English. A mixture of tenses is used to show that you can practice the different forms with any tense.

Correct Verbs

People who are new to English often experience confusion about which verb forms can serve as the verb in a sentence. An English sentence must include at least one verb or verb phrase and a tense that relays the time during which the action is taking place. Verbals (such as gerunds and infinitives) should not be confused with verbs.

• A sentence with a gerund must also have another verb.

• A sentence with an infinitive must have another verb.

• Verbs must match the timing indicated by the other words in a sentence.

The English language includes nine main modal auxiliary verbs that are used with other verbs. These modals, shown in the wheel in four pairs and a single, can refer to past, present, or future tense based on the verbs that are used with them. The modals themselves do not change form to change tense. As shown in the following table, you can use modals to express an attitude in regard to the action or general situation of the sentence.

Gerunds and Infinitives

Gerunds are nouns formed by adding –ing to a verb, such as running. Infinitives are nouns formed from the “to” form of a verb, such as to run. These two noun forms are called verbals, because they are formed from verbs. Experience with English will teach you which form to use in which situation. In the meantime, the following lists provide a brief overview.

Forming Participles

Participles are verb forms that combine with auxiliary verbs to create different tenses.

• To form perfect tenses, use had, has, or have with the past participle.

  Example: My dog has eaten twice today.

• To form progressive tenses, use a form of the verb to be with the present participle, or gerund.

  Example: My dog is eating a treat.

• To write in passive voice, use a form of the verb to be with the past participle.

  Example: The treat was eaten by my dog.

Adverbs and Adjectives

Adverbs often end in –ly and modify verbs, other adverbs, and adjectives. As a rule, you should place an adverb next to or close to the word it modifies, although adverbs can be placed in different positions within a sentence without affecting its meaning.

Adjectives modify nouns and in some more heavily inflected languages, the endings of adjectives change to agree with the number and gender of the noun. In English, adjectives do not change in this way. For example, within the following sentences, note how the spelling of the adjective “eager” remains the same, regardless of the number or the gender of the noun it modifies.

As in these sentences, adjectives usually are placed before a noun. The noun can be the subject, as in the preceding example, or a direct object, as in the following sentence.

Adjectives can also be placed after a linking verb. The adjective still modifies a noun but is not placed next to the noun, as in the following example.

When two or more adjectives are used to modify a single noun, they should be used in a set order. Even though the table shows ten levels within the hierarchy, you should limit your adjectives per noun to two or three.

When using an adverb and adjective together with a noun, you should typically place the adverb first, followed by the adjective, and then the noun.

Irregular Adjectives

In English, adjectives have comparative and superlative forms that are used to more exactly describe nouns.

One common way to form the comparative and superlative forms is to add –er and –est, respectively, as shown in the preceding example. A second common method is to use the words more and most or less and least, as shown in the following example.

Some adjectives’ comparatives and superlatives can be formed with either –er and –est or with more and most (or less and least). In these cases, choose the version that works best within a given sentence.

Some adjectives do not have comparative and superlative forms since the simplest form expresses the only possible form.

Indefinite Adjectives

Indefinite adjectives give nonspecific information about a noun. For example, the indefinite article few indicates some, but not an exact amount. Indefinite adjectives are easily confused with indefinite pronouns since they are the same words used differently. An indefinite pronoun replaces a noun. An indefinite adjective precedes a noun or pronoun and modifies it. It is important for you to understand the difference between indefinite adjectives and pronouns to assure you are saying what you mean. Some common indefinite adjectives include all, any, anything, each, every, few, many, one, several, some, somebody, and someone.

Predicate Adjectives

Since linking verbs express a state of being instead of an action, adjectives are used after them instead of adverbs. An adjective that follows a linking verb is referred to as a predicate adjective. Be careful not to use an adverb simply because of the proximity to the verb.

Clauses and Phrases

Clauses include both subjects and verbs that work together as a single unit. When they form stand-alone sentences, they’re called independent clauses. An independent clause can stand alone or can be used with other clauses and phrases. A dependent clause also includes both a subject and a verb, but it must combine with an independent clause to form a complete sentence.

Phrases are groups of words that work together as a single unit but do not have a subject or a verb. English includes five basic kinds of phrases.

Relative Pronouns and Clauses

An adjective clause gives information about a preceding noun in a sentence. Look at the following examples.

Like many other adjective clauses, these begin with a relative adjective (which, who, whom, whose, that) or a relative adverb (when or where). When you use a relative clause to describe a noun, make sure to begin it with one of the seven relative adjectives and adverbs listed in the previous sentence.

Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases

Prepositions are words that show the relationships between two or more other words. Choosing correct prepositions can be challenging, but the following examples will help clarify how to use some of the most common prepositions.

Omitted Words

Some languages, especially those that make greater use of inflection, do not include all the sentence parts that English includes. Take special care to include those English parts that you might not be used to including in your native language. The following table shows some of these words that are needed in English but not in other languages.

Not and Other Negative Words

To form a negative in English, you have to add a negative word to the sentence. Some of the negative words in English are shown in the blue arrow. Typically, you should place the negative word before the main verb.

In casual English, it is common to form contractions, or shortened combined words, with the auxiliary or linking verb and the word not. Contractions are typically not acceptable in very formal writing but are becoming more and more common in certain academic and public contexts.

Using two negative words in the same sentence changes the meaning of the negative words to positive, thus supporting the common saying “Two negatives make a positive.” Think of it as being similar to multiplying two negative numbers and getting a positive number. Double negatives are often used in extremely casual talk but never in professional or academic settings.

Idioms

Idioms are informal, colorful language. Although their intent is to add interest to the English language, they also add a lot of confusion since their intended meanings are not aligned with their literal meanings. In time, you will learn the idioms that your acquaintances use. Until then, reading lists of idioms, such as the following, might prove helpful. Just remember that when a person says something that seems to make no sense at all, an idiom might be involved. Also, keep in mind that this list is just a very small sampling of the thousands of idiomatic expressions that occur in English, as happens with any language.

Spelling Tips

Spelling is a vital part of your written English skills. Your spelling needs to include both an understanding of general spelling rules and a mastery of common words that you will use often. The following are some of the most common words you will need to spell listed in categories.

American Writing Styles, Argument, and Structure

Your original language has its own structures, formats, and cultural assumptions that are likely natural to you but perhaps different from those of English. The following broad guidelines underlie basic American English and US academic writing.

• Citing sources: Some languages and cultures do not consider citing sources of ideas to be of paramount importance. In US academic situations, however, failing to cite sources of ideas and text is referred to as plagiarism and can result in serious ramifications, including failing grades, damaged reputations, school expulsions, and job loss.
• Introducing the topic early: Unlike some languages, American English typically presents the topic early in a paper.
• Staying on topic: Although some languages view diversions from the topic as adding interest and depth, American English is focused and on topic.
• Writing concisely: Some languages hold eloquent, flowing language in high esteem. Consequently, texts in these languages are often long and elaborate. American English, on the other hand, prefers concise, to-the-point wording.
• Constructing arguments: US academic writing often involves argument building. To this end, writers use transitions to link ideas, evidence to support claims, and relatively formal writing to ensure clarity.

Attribution

• Content and images adapted from “Chapter 21: Appendix A” and licensed under CC BY NC SA.