H.

DARIR Grammar S3 Outline of the Grammatical Structure of English

Unit 1 - 2 Introduction:
Grammar as a description of language

 Goals of grammar
 Types of grammar
 What characterizes this course about grammar (compared with Grammar 1 and
Grammar 2)?
 Language Varieties
 Textbooks
 Conventions to be used in this Grammar
 Definitions of key terms: Grammatical units (words and word classes)

Definition of Grammar:

Grammar is a systematic description of a language.

Goals of Grammar

-avoiding mistakes,

-forming correct sentences,

-basic way to learn a language.

Types of Grammar

Descriptive

Prescriptive

Reference

Pedagogical -Remedial

Notice on this Course

The Grammar Course for the third semester is more theoretical in nature than the that of the first and second
semesters . this is not surprising since grammar will give way in the fourth semester to linguistics.

Language Varieties
National / Geographical Varieties: American English vs. British English

-Welsh

-Irish

- Scottish

- English of England (Yorkshire, Manchester,

Kent, London, etc)

Main differences between American and British English with Examples

Textbooks:

A UNIVERSITY GRAMMAR OF ENGLISH (UGE)

A COMMUNICATIVE GRAMMAR OF ENGLISH (CGE)

A REFERENCE GRAMMAR FOR STUDENTS OF ENGLISH (RGSE)

A UNIVERSITY GRAMMAR OF ENGLISH - WORKBOOK

WARRINER’S ENGLLISH GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION (WARRINER)

HANDBOOK FOR WRITERS (HANDBOOK)

NESFIELD’S MANUAL OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION (NESFIELD)

Grammatical Units

The basic unit of grammatical analysis is the sentence. This means that language is described in
terms of sentences. No description or understanding of the sentence is possible without first
defining the terms word, phrase, clause, finite, infinite, dependent and independent, and of course
sentence.
Word phrase clause sentence

To start with, what is a word?

A word is “the smallest unit of language that people can understand if it is said or written
on its own” ( Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English). In English, a word has a space on
either side of it when it is written.
What is the first word on this page? What is the last?

What are word classes?

Words are classified into word classes (or classes of word) also called parts of speech. The
main word classes are the following: verb (V), noun (N), adjective (Adj), adverb (Adv), preposition
(Prep), determiner (D), pronoun (Pro) and conjunction (C). Here are examples of each one of these
eight classes:
 Verb: come climb, eat, welcome, be
Noun: letter’ aircraft, country, lady, hour
Adjective: good, great British, cold, quick, his
Adverb: quickly, always, seriously, approximately,
Preposition: to, of, at, on, in
Determiner: the, some, forty-five, a
Pronoun: we, you, them, myself, I, who, that
Conjunction: and, but, so, therefore, even though, while

Here is a sentence illustrating all word classes:

I have an important conference at work tomorrow, so I am rather busy
(Pro V D Adj N Prep N Adv C Pro V Adv Adj

NOTE 1. There is also a small class of words called 'interjections'. They include oh, ah and hm.
NOTE 2. Verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs belong to open classes. Prepositions, determiners,
pronouns and conjunctions belong to much smaller classes (closed classes). These words are
sometimes called 'grammatical words'.
NOTE 3. Most word classes can be divided into sub-classes. For example:
Types of Verbs:
 Ordinary verbs: go, like, think, apply
 Auxiliary verbs: is, had, can, must
Types of Adverbs:
 Adverbs of manner: suddenly, quickly
 Adverbs of frequency: always, often
 Adverbs of place: there, nearby
• Adverbs of time: tomorrow, recently, early,
• Adverbs of degree: less, more
 Linking adverbs: too, also, etc
 Interrogative Adverbs: how, when, where
Types of Determiners:
 Articles (both definite and indefinite): a, the
 Quantifiers (adj): some, all, three, neither, none (all wood tends to shrink)
Types of Pronouns:
 Personal Pronouns: I, she, they,
 Indefinite Pronouns: everyone, everybody, all (All of them enjoyed the party, I invited some of
my colleagues but not all.)
 Possessive Pronouns: Mine, Yours, hers, Its, Ours, theirs
 Reflexive Pronouns: myself, yourself
 Relative Pronouns: where, who, that
 Demonstrative Pronouns: this, that, (e.g.: this is a worthwhile project)
 Interrogative Pronouns: Who, what, (who is the doctor?)
Types of Adjectives:
 Demonstrative adjectives: this, that, these, those (e.g.: this book is the best)
 Possessive adjectives: my, his, your
  Interrogative adjectives: whose, which, what

Words belonging to More than one Part of Speech

Some words can belong to more than one word class depending on how they are used in a
sentence.
For example, test, look and work can be a noun or a verb.
He passed the test. (noun) _ He had to test the machine. (verb)
Can I look at your photos? (verb) I like the look of that coat (noun).
I'll be at work tomorrow (noun) _ We work on Saturday morning (verb).
After and for can function as prepositions or a conjunctions:
No one came after ten O’clock _ They arrived after the concert had begun.
They were not accepted for they were late _ They were for us.
Like can function as a verb or preposition:
I like him very much _ He looks like his brother.
Except can function as a preposition, as a verb or as a conjunction.
The museum is open daily except (for) Monday(s) _ An admission fee is charged, but children are
excepted _ The government has few options except to keep interest rates high. Many
subordinating conjunctions can also be prepositions. When followed by a noun phrase only, they
are prepositions. When followed by a subject + predicate, they are subordinating conjunctions.

Exercises
Exercises 1
Read the paragraph below and then say which word class each underlined word belongs to.

Centuries ago there lived… "A king!" my little readers will say immediately. No, children,
you are mistaken. Once upon a time there was a piece of wood. It was not an expensive
piece of wood. Far from it. Just a common block of firewood, one of those thick, solid logs
that are put on the fire in winter to make cold rooms cozy and warm.
I do not know how this actually came to happen, yet the fact remains that one fine day this
piece of wood found itself in the shop of an old carpenter. His real name was Master
Antonio, but everyone called him Master Cherry, for the tip of his nose was so round and
red and shiny that it looked like a ripe cherry. (The Adventures of Pinocchio: 9)

Exercise 2
Read the following paragraph and then select three examples for each word class and write them in
the spaces below. Write the first three verbs under 'Verb', and so on. Do not write the same word
more than once.
Verb Noun Adjective Adverb Preposition Determiner Pronoun conjunction

George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia. His father died when he was 11.
So, he moved in with his brother, Lawrence. Lawrence owned a large farm in Virginia called
 Mount Vernon. At age 16, Washington became a surveyor of land. He helped measure and map
new towns in western Virginia. When Lawrence died, Washington inherited Mount Vernon. This
plantation became his home for many years.
In the 1750s, two countries wanted to control the colonies. Both France and Great Britain wanted
the new land. The French were building new forts. The forts were used for their army. This made
the British trappers angry. They needed the land where the forts were built. France got some
American Indian tribes to help them. The French gave guns to the Indians. The Indians used the
guns to help France attack the British.

Exercise 3
In the following sentences, identify the italicized words by writing the appropriate number in the
answer space.
1. Noun 2. Pronoun 3. Adjective 4. Adverb 5. Verb
6. Preposition 7. Conjunction 8. Determiner

1. He subscribed to a daily newspaper……… 23. Neither of the reports mentioned the

2. He took a chemistry course…………… Americans…….
3. If you need help, please phone me.……… 24. Well, what shall we do now?……………
4. Everyone joined in the demonstration.…… 25. Tomorrow is her birthday………….
5. He wrote concerning employment.……… 26. Will you come tomorrow?....................
6. She was late for her classes.……………… 27. He worked during the holiday………..
7. This book is mine.……………… 28. You should never have accepted the offer.
8. They arrived late. ……………… 29. Both of us agreed to go.………………….
9. Are you going to the library?……………… 30. She drives fast.…………….
10. She can sing and dance. ……………… 31. She drives too fast……………………
11. This is the house to buy.……………… 32. This lawyer is vey competent…….
12. She lives across the street.……………… 33. He never confides in us…………..
13. I found it on the floor.……………… 34. Which is your book?...............
14. She looks like her mother.……………… 35. The traffic officer helped us.
15. He owns a drug store.……………… 36. It does not matter if you give it to her or
16. This artist is unusually talented.………… him………….
17. This is the person whom I respect. ……… 37. He inquired concerning insurance…….
18. Put the book there.……………… 38. We are now approaching Paris………..
19. He took linguistics lessons.…………… 39. I want an up-to-date dictionary…………
20. Simply put the fridge there. …………… 40. None of the children volunteered………
21. Neither boy is eligible.……………… 41. Supplied were not available…………..
22. Neither report mentioned the Americans. 42. Oh, this is marvelous!..........

Exercise 4
Is the underlined word a verb, a noun, an adjective, preposition or conjunction?
1. I'd sooner walk than take the bus………… 6 They showed us some photos…………..
2. I went for a walk in the woods alone……… 7. Henry thought Claire looked beautiful…….
3 The car isn’t very clean………….. 8. A strange thought came into Emma's
4 Why doesn't anyone clean the car?.......... head………..
5 We went to a fabulous show in New 9. Sarah is feeling quite tired now………..
York……
10. Studying all night had tired Andrew 14. Always think twice for life is not a
out…………11. The teacher wanted to talk to play…………
the student………… 15. Do not sell the bear's skin before you have
12. The teacher wanted to have a talk with the caught the bear…………….
student………... 16. Don't put the cart before the hors
13. The world is a ladder for some to go up and
others to go down.