Fundamentals of English Grammar

A noun identifies a person, place, thing (including an animal, a work (e.g., film or book), a product, or an organization), or idea. A noun can represent something that physically exists (e.g., a mountain or a car), or it can represent a concept (e.g., a memory, love).

There are two broad types of nouns: common nouns and proper nouns. A common noun refers to a class of people, places, things, or ideas rather than individual people, places, things, or ideas. Examples: doctor, school, dog, movie, vacuum cleaner, police department, jealousy. A proper noun refers to a particular person, place, or thing. Examples: Bill Gates, University of Arkansas, Fido the Dog, Star Wars, Dyson®, Fayetteville Police Department.

For more information about nouns, see our resource on Articles.

A pronoun is a word that stands in for a noun. In other words, pronouns rename a noun. The noun renamed by a pronoun is called the antecedent. Examples:

Jeremy knows that he should study. (the pronoun he renames the antecedent Jeremy)

The dogs are cute. They are puppies. (the pronoun they renames the antecedent dogs)

Hannah hates chemistry. She finds it difficult. (the pronoun she renames the antecedent Hannah; the pronoun it renames the antecedent chemistry)

An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or pronoun. In other words, it describes what kind of noun or pronoun it is. Common adjectives include:

• Colors (e.g., red ball, blue car, green chair)
• Numbers (e.g., one ball, two cars, three chairs)
• Sizes (e.g., big ball, small car, huge chair)
• Shapes (e.g., round ball, square car, rectangular chair)
• Quality (e.g., good ball, bad car, broken chair)
• Appearance (e.g., pretty ball, ugly car, fancy chair)
• Mood (e.g., happy boy, sad girl, funny baby)
• Quantity (e.g., few balls, several cars, many chairs)

Adjectives typically come before the noun they modify. However, when we use linking verbs, the adjective comes after the linking verb. The formula becomes: (noun) (linking verb) (adjective). Examples:

The ball is red.

The car appeared small.

The chair felt broken.

 See the following section on verbs for more information about linking verbs.

Verbs can either be action verbs or linking verbs. Action verbs tell what the subject is doing (e.g., Jennifer eats the pizza.) Linking verbs tell what the subject is (e.g., Jennifer looks beautiful.).

Verbs can belong to three basic tenses: present, past, and future. Verbs in the present tense indicate an action or state happening in the current time (e.g., Right now, the dog chases the cat.). Verbs in the past tense indicate an action or state that happened in a former time (e.g., Yesterday, the dog chased the cat.). Verbs in the future tense indicate an action or state that will happen at a later time (e.g., Tomorrow, the dog will chase the cat.).

An adverb is a word that modifies a verb. It indicates when, where, or how the verb is done. Examples:

I eat breakfast early in the morning. (the adverb early indicates when the verb eat is performed)

We live here. (the adverb here indicates where the verb live is performed)

She sings quietly. (the adverb quietly indicates how the verb sings is performed)

Prepositions are words that begin prepositional phrases. Prepositional phrases indicate where, when, or in what direction the action of the sentence takes place. Examples:

She lives in the house. (the preposition in begins the prepositional phrase in the house, which indicates where she lives)

I slept after I finished my homework. (the preposition after begins the prepositional phrase after I finished my homework, which indicates when I slept)

He ran toward the soccer field. (the preposition toward begins the prepositional phrase toward the soccer field, which indicates in what direction he ran)

A conjunction is a word that connects other words or clauses. Conjunctions serve two primary purposes:

1. To join two subjects, verbs, or objects in a compound subject, compound predicate, or compound object. Examples:

• Compound subject: Jeremy and Hannah studied for the test. (the conjunction and joins the two subjects, Jeremy and Hannah)
• Compound predicate: I will study or sleep. (the conjunction or joins the two verbs, study and sleep)
• Compound object: They ate neither pizza nor tacos. (the conjunction nor joins the two objects, pizza and tacos)

2. To join two independent clauses. If a conjunction is used in this way, it must be preceded by a comma. Examples:

• Original sentences: It started raining. We went inside.
• Using a conjunction: It started raining, so we went inside. (the conjunction so joins the clauses)
• Original sentences: I studied hard. I failed the test.
• Using a conjunction: I studied hard, but I failed the test. (the conjunction but joins the clauses)

An interjection is a word or phrase that indicates an exclamation or interruption. Interjections do not serve a grammatical purpose in the sentence. They are uncommon in formal writing. Examples:

Yikes, I forgot to study for the test!

That was a hard test, huh?

Her business employs—get this—five hundred employees.

Syntax refers to the rules for arranging the words in sentences. English is a subject-verb-object language, which means that in most English sentences, the subject comes first, then the verb, then the object (if there is one).

The subject indicates who or what is performing the action in the sentence. The verb indicates the action performed by the subject. The object indicates who or what receives the action. Examples:

The dog chases the cat. (subject: dog, verb: chases, object: cat)

Jeremy studied. (subject: Jeremy, verb: studied)

 

While sentences may or may not have an object, they must have both a subject and a verb. Sentences which lack a subject and/or a verb are called sentence fragments (link to Sentence Fragments resource).

There are four types of sentences, categorized by the purpose of the sentence.

1. A declarative sentence makes a statement. Example: Summer classes begin on May 25.
2. An interrogative sentence asks a question. Example: When do summer classes begin?
3. An imperative sentence gives a command. Example: Do your homework. The subject of imperative sentences is often an understood you and does not appear in the sentence itself.
4. An exclamatory sentence expresses strong emotion. Example: What a surprise! Exclamatory sentences may not include a subject and/or verb; in fact, they may simply be an interjection standing alone as its own sentence (e.g., Wow!).

Looking for more information? Here’s some more downloadable resources based on the content of this page.

The Sentence

Parts of Speech

Nouns, Pronouns, and Articles

Verbs

Modifiers

Adjectives and Adverbs