Basic Grammar

Basic Grammar Rules

What is grammar?

Grammar is a set of language rules for how words are used in sentences and change in different situations.

Grammar Rules

What are the basic rules of grammar? There are a few grammar rules you should always consider, such as: all sentences need a subject and a verb, adjectives go directly before the noun they describe or after if separated by a verb, and a comma connects two ideas.

First Rule

Parts of Speech

• Nouns

• Pronouns

• Adjectives

• Verbs

• Adverbs

• Conjunctions

• Prepositions

Second Rule

Understanding the Parts of Speech

• Most parts of speech have additional rules that govern how one can use them. One can write nouns as proper or common, abstract or concrete, singular or plural, count or non-count, collective, and gerunds.

• A basic sentence contains a subject and a verb.

The dog chases the cat.

Third Rule

Structuring a Basic Sentence

subject

predicate

• A sentence's subject and verb must share the same singular/state. As such, one cannot use a verb’s singular form with a plural subject.

Fourth Rule

Proper Subject-Verb Agreement

1st Rule

A noun is a person, place thing, animal, event, or idea.

For example:
Boy, China, Laptop, Dog, New Year, Memory

Nouns

Write all the nouns found in the word list on your paper.

Identifying nouns

Categorize each noun into their proper boxes.

Identifying nouns

Pronouns

A pronoun is used to replace a noun.

For example:
He, She, It, They, We

Pronouns

Verbs

A verb tells an action.

For example:
eat, drink, sleep, cry, laugh, jump

Verbs

The three basic verb tenses in English are present, past, and future.

Tenses of Verb

Past tense is the tense of a verb that is used to write or talk about the past or something that has happened already. We add -ed, -d, or -ied to the end of a verb.

Past Tense

• jump - jumped

• need - needed

• hug - hugged

• wait - waited

• watch - watched

For example:

• close - closed

• hire - hired

• chase - chased

• live - lived

For example:

Present tense is the tense of a verb that is used to write or talk about the present or what is happening today, every day, or regularly. We add -ing or -s to the end of a verb.

Present Tense

• close - closes

• open - opens

• run - runs

• chase - chases

• laugh - laughs
  

For example:

• close - closing

• open - opening

• run - running

• chase - chasing

• laugh - laughing
  

Future tense is the tense of a verb that is used to write or talk about something that is going to happen tomorrow, later, or in the future. We add the word -will to the start of a verb.

Future Tense

• close - will close

• open - will open

• run - will run

• chase - will chase

• laugh - will laugh
  

For example:

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

Good job!

Recall

Irregular Verbs

An irregular verb is “a verb that does not follow the usual rules of grammar".

For example, ‘eat’ is an irregular verb because its past tense is ‘ate’ and its past participle is ‘eaten’, not ‘eated’

Group 1 – Irregular Verbs with the Same Spelling across All Forms

Group 2 – Irregular Verbs with the Same Simple Past Form

Group 3 – Irregular Verbs with Completely Different Spellings for Each Form

Find out the simple past form of the following irregular verbs:

1. Find

2. Give

3. Drink

4. Catch

5. See

6. Take

7. Sing

8. Choose

9. Ride

10. Write

Good job!

Be-Verbs

Recall

What is Be-Verbs?

Verbs like am, is, are, was, and were are called “be-verbs”. They do not show action; they indicate a state of being.

Present Tense

am – is used in the present tense when the subject is the first person, the pronoun I.

is – is used in the present tense with a singular noun or a third-person singular pronoun (he, she, it).

are – is used in the present tense with a plural noun or a plural pronoun (We, You, They).

Past Tense

was – is used in the first and third person singular past tense. It is also used for statements of fact.

were – is used in the second person singular and plural first and third person plural.

Example:

1. I am the cheerleader of our team.
2. Mrs. Aquino was my teacher in Math last year.
3. The vase is full of flowers.
4. Mila and Janah are active in class discussion.
5. The players were tired after the game.

Write the correct be- verbs to complete the sentences.

1. Many kids ________ playing virtually at Tom’s World last Sunday.

2. Cecilia _______ the leader of our group.

3. Ms. Asuncion ___________ my former teacher in Math.

4. I_______ the only child in the family.

5. Many __________ joining the organization in our barangay.

6. The soldiers ___________ having their inspection in the boundary of Las Pinas and Bacoor.

Use I, is, am, are, was, were in a sentence.

Good job!

Recall

Adjective

What is an adjective?

An adjective is a word that modifies or describes a noun or pronoun. Adjectives can describe the qualities of someone or something independently or in comparison to something else.

Example:

Adjectives in a sentence

I like old houses.

The boy is tall and skinny.

Jane is smarter than her brother.

How are adjectives used in sentences?

Adjectives modify or describe nouns and pronouns. They can be attributive (occurring before the noun) or predicative (occurring after the noun). Predicative adjectives typically follow a linking verb (such as forms of the verb “to be”) that connects the subject of the sentence to the adjective.

It can describe its shape, color, quality, quantity, texture, feelings, or etc.

Examples:
round, circle, pointy, red, colorful, shiny, good, big, many, few, rough, smooth, happy, sad, cold, expensive


A red pen
A colorful rainbow
A shiny car

Example:

Attributive adjectives:

The proud soldier is home.

The dedicated employee starts early.

Predicative adjectives:

The soldier is proud.

The employee is dedicated.

Homework

Describe each noun and use it in a sentence.

EXAMPLE:

Quezon City - Large
Quezon City is a large city found in Metro Manila and used to be the capital of the Philippines.

1. China
2. wife
3. pen
4. panda
5. Chinese New Year

Recall

Degree of Comparison of Adjectives

Adjectives are describing words that are used to modify nouns or pronouns. There are three degrees of adjectives. In order of ascension, they are: positive, comparative, and superlative. One must be careful to use the proper form of adjectives in a sentence so that it is easy to understand

Positive Degree

The basic form of an adjective is a positive degree. It simply implies the presence of a quality.


Positive Degree Examples:

1. Tina is dressed in a red gown.

2.  Cheetahs are fast animals.

3.  The cat was chased by the large dog.

Comparative Degree

When comparing one noun or pronoun to another, comparative degree is applied. Only two things are being compared in these cases. After a comparative adjective in a phrase, words such as and, to are used to express contrast between the two objects.


Comparative Degree Examples:

1. This box is smaller than mine.

2. Rohit is smarter than Mohan.

3. Her hair is longer than mine.

Superlative Degree

When comparing two or more nouns, the superlative degree is used. They may also be used to compare one object to the remainder of a set of things. In comparison to other things, it represents the utmost intensity (quality or quantity) of a thing. After a superlative adjective in a phrase, words like of and in are used.


Superlative Degree Examples:

1. Rohan is the tallest in the class.

2. This road is the busiest of all the roads.

3. Mount Everest is the world’s tallest mountain.

Rules of Degrees of Comparison of Adjectives

• smart – smarter – smartest.

• weak- weaker – weakest

• late – later – latest

• strange – stranger – strangest

• old – older – oldest

• wise – wiser – wisest

When two items or people are contrasted, the extension ‘er’ is used for the adjective in conjunction with the word ‘than’ to create a comparative degree of adjective. Only the letter ‘r’ is added to adjectives that end in an ‘e’. When comparing more than two items or people, the superlative degree is created by adding the word ‘est’ to the adjective. Only ‘st’ is added to words ending in ‘e’.

Adjectives with a Single Syllable:

• big – bigger – biggest

• hot – hotter – hottest

• thin – thinner – thinnest

• sad – sadder – saddest

• flat – flatter – flattest

When an adjective ends in a consonant + vowel + consonant, we double the consonant and add -er for the comparative form, and we double the consonant and add est for the superlative form.

Adjectives with a Single Syllable:

• useful – more useful – most useful

• beautiful – more beautiful – most beautiful

• important – more important – most important

• interesting – more interesting – most interesting

• active – more active – most active

• confused – more confused – most confused

• difficult – more difficult – most difficult

• famous – more famous – most famous

• expensive – more expensive – most expensive

• popular – more popular – most popular

We add the word more to produce comparative form and more to form superlative form when the adjective is lengthy, i.e. two or more syllables.

Two or More-Syllable Adjectives

• good – better – best

• bad – worse – worst

• much – much – most

• little – less – least

• far – farther – farthest

Irregular Degree of Adjectives There are a few adjectives that don’t have comparative or superlative versions. They use adjectives in an ad hoc manner and do not adhere to any rules.

Irregular Adjectives

Fill in the blanks with the suitable degree of given adjectives:

(1) He has chosen the ___ players in his team. (good)

(2) Rahul is ___ than Rajib. (strong)

(3) Hummingbird is the ___ bird in the world. (small)

(4) No one in this area is as ___asMr.Roy. (humble)

(5) Sanjib is the ___ boy in the class. (tall)

(6) He runs ___ than his friend. (fast)

(7) Kailash has done the ___ work. (tough)

(8) Today’s weather is ___ than yesterday’s weather. (bad)

(9) Pen is ___ than sword. (mighty)
(10) This room is ___ than the other room because of air conditioner. (cool)

(11) She is a ___ lady. (gorgeous)

(12) The fox is the ___ animal in the forest. (clever)

Correct the underlined words:

(1) The boy is so more intelligent.

(2) The giraffe is the taller animal in the forest.
(3) Knowledge is the good power.

(4) Geeta’s hair is curly than Rita’s hair.

(5) You should always avoid worse things.

(6) Give me a smallest cup of tea.

(7) Arjun is a braver boy.
(8) This watch is costly than the previous one.

Good job!

Homework

Use the following words in a sentence:

1. better

2. simple

3. largest

4. many

5. hot