STRUCTURAL GRAMMAR

NOUN
Definition: A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea.

Concrete nouns name people, places, or things that you can touch, see,
hear, smell, or taste.

Person Place Thing

man river dog

Mrs. Jones Paris Book

doctor mountains sports car

Maddie home Ferrari

Abstract nouns name ideas, concepts, or emotions. These nouns are

intangible, which means you cannot touch, see, hear, smell, or taste them
using your five senses.

Idea Emotion

love happiness

intelligence anger

justice excitement
religion fear

time surprise

Definition: Common nouns name any person, place, thing, or idea. They
are not capitalized unless they come at the beginning of a
sentence. Proper nouns are the names of specific people, places, things,
or ideas. Proper nouns should always be capitalized.

Common Proper

boy ⇒ James
 Common Proper

river ⇒ Mississippi River

car ⇒ Ford

doctor ⇒ Doctor Jefferson

town ⇒ Rockledge

candy bar ⇒ Baby Ruth

Definition: Singular means only one. Plural means more than one.
In order to make a noun plural, it is usually only necessary to add s.
However, there are many irregular nouns that add es. The rules for
spelling plural nouns are based on the letters at the end of the word. The
chart below breaks up the rules into categories so that they are easier to
remember.

Rule Examples
Most nouns Add s to form the cat ⇒ cats
plural. truck ⇒ trucks
bug ⇒ bugs
Nouns that end Add es to form the bus ⇒ buses
in s, sh, x, ch, or z plural. For words that brush ⇒ brushes
end in z, add an fox ⇒ foxes
extra z before the es. beach ⇒ beaches
quiz ⇒ quizzes
Nouns ending Some nouns ending roof ⇒ roofs
in f or fe in f or fe just add s. safe ⇒ safes
Sometimes it is shelf ⇒ shelves
necessary to change wife ⇒ wives
the f to a v. In that
case, always end the
word with es.
Nouns that end Add s to form the donkey ⇒ donkeys
in vowel + y plural. highway ⇒ highways

Nouns that end Add s to form the reo ⇒ oreos

in vowel + o plural. scenario ⇒ scenarios

Nouns that end Change the y to i and family ⇒ families

in consonant + y add es to form the trophy ⇒ trophies
plural.

Nouns that end Easy rule: Regular examples:

in consonant + o Usually add es except potato ⇒ potatoes
for musical terms. dingo ⇒ dingoes
piano ⇒ pianos
Complicated rule: soprano ⇒ sopranos
Some nouns that end
in consonant
+ o add es. Many can
be spelled either way.
Look in the dictionary
if you want to be sure.

These nouns always

add es: potato, tomato,
hero, echo, banjo,
embargo, veto,
torpedo.

Irregular nouns form plurals in unusual ways. Dictionaries will give you
the plural spelling if it is irregular.

one child ⇒ two children

one foot ⇒ two feet

one tooth ⇒ two teeth

one man ⇒ two men

Some nouns are spelled the same way whether they are singular or plural.

one fish ⇒ two fish

one sheep ⇒ two sheep

one deer ⇒ two deer

Definition: A compound noun is a noun made up of two or more words.

Each word makes up part of the meaning of the noun.
Compound nouns can be written three ways:

A single word Two words Hyphenated

haircut rain forest self-esteem

toothpaste ice cream brother-in-law

Two-word proper nouns can also be classified as compound nouns.

Remember that proper nouns name specific people, places, and things.
Atlantic Ocean

Eiffel Tower

Nelson Mandela
When a compound noun is a single word, make it plural by adding s to
the end. If the compound noun is hyphenated or composed of two
separate words, remember to add s only to the word that is plural.
one mother-in-law ⇒ two mothers-in-law
(There are two mothers, not two laws.)
one director general ⇒ two directors general
(There are two directors, not two generals.)

Definition: Collective comes from the same root as collection.

A collective noun names a group, which is like a collection of people or
things.
family team choir jury committee herd pod
Definition: Possessive nouns show ownership. Possessive comes from
the same root as possession, something you own.

Singular Possessives
Add 's to singular words to show possession.
Dog's collar sister's backpack car's engine

(dog + 's) (sister + 's) (car + 's)

If a singular word ends in s, it is still necessary to add 's.
Charles's sneakers Bess's dresses bus's tires

(Charles + 's) (Bess + 's) (bus + 's)

 Plural Possessives
If you have added an s to make a word plural (for example, cat ⇒ cats),
adding 's will sound ridiculous (cats's). In that case, add only the
apostrophe to the end of the word.
Dogs' collars sisters' backpacks cars' engines

(dogs + ') (sisters + ') (cars + ')

Just like singular possessives, plural possessives that don't end in s add 's.
Children's homework fish's bowls octopi's tentacles

(children + 's) (fish + 's) (octopi + 's)

If two people own something together, use an 's after the second person
only.
Joe and Mary's car is new. (Both Joe and Mary own the car.)
If two people own two separate things, add 's to each name.
Laurie's and Megan's nails are painted the (Each girl has her own
same color. nails.)
You may find that certain names ending in s add only an apostrophe. That
rule is somewhat old-fashioned. However, some names, such as Jesus,
Moses, Achilles, and Charles Dickens (historical names that end in
a z sound), can end with either an apostrophe or 's.
Jesus' parables were Jesus's parables were
instructional stories. instructional stories.

Moses' first tablets were Moses's first tablets were

broken. broken.
Some people prefer to use only the apostrophe, but because we usually
pronounce the extra s, adding 's is correct as well.

PRONOUN

Definition: The prefix pro means for or in place of. Pronouns stand in
for or replace nouns. This lesson is about personal pronouns, which
replace nouns that refer to people or things.
Personal pronouns have:

 Number: They are singular or plural.

 Person: 1st person is the person speaking, 2nd person is the person being
spoken to, and 3rd person is the person being spoken about. You can look
at the chart below for examples.
 Case: Determines how a pronoun is being used in a sentence (subject,
object, or possessive). We'll go over this more in the next lesson.

Personal Pronouns
Subject Object Possessive
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
st
1 I we me us my, mine
Person Our, ours
2nd you you you you your, your, yours
Person yours

3rd he, she, they him, them his, her, their, theirs
Person it her, it hers, its

Pronouns in Compounds
In sentences that use two pronouns or a noun and a pronoun together, it's
easy to become confused about which pronoun to use. If you're not sure
which one is correct, consider whether it's part of the subject (doing the
action) or part of the object (either receiving the action or after a
preposition). Sometimes a pronoun may sound right to you, but you can't
always trust your ears. Be especially careful with I and me, which are two
of the most common offenders.
Common Error #1: Using Object Pronouns in Place of Subject
Pronouns

Error Correction

Jesse and went to school. Jesse and I went to school.

and bought a new puppy last He and I bought a new puppy last
 Error Correction

week. week.

and took the bus. We took the bus.

Common Error #2: Using Subject Pronouns in Place of Object

Pronouns

Error Correction

He met Jeremy and . He met Jeremy and me.

Nancy hit Will and . Nancy hit Will and me.

Is that hot fudge sundae Is that hot fudge sundae for Carlos
for Carlos and ? and me?

My brother sat right My brother sat right between you

between you and . and me.

Pronouns Before Nouns

Sometimes for clarity or emphasis, writers use a pronoun and a noun
together. People often use an object pronoun when they mean to use a
subject pronoun, and vice versa.

Error Correction

writers enjoy writing fiction. We writers enjoy writing fiction.

The teacher explained the lesson The teacher explained the lesson
to students. to us students.

VERB

Definition: First type: action verbs, also called dynamic verbs. This
kind of verb tells you what's happening or what someone is doing. Some
action verbs describe physical actions, and they are easy to spot because
you can observe them with at least one of your five senses. These are
words such as jump, sing, and eat.

On the other hand, some action verbs are more abstract, and they're easy
to miss sometimes because you can't always observe them with your five
senses. These are words such as think, learn, and decide.

Physical Actions
The neighbor's cats meow loudly.
You hear the meow and you may see the cat open its mouth to meow.
Trucks speed down the highway.
You can see the truck speeding and probably hear the motor too.
Waves crash on the shore.
You can see and hear the wave and even feel it crash if you're standing
close enough.

Abstract Actions
Students learn new material every day.
You can't actually look into someone's brain and see the learning process,
but learning is still an action.
I think my shoes are under the bed.
You can't really see the thoughts going through the person's mind, but
thinking is still an action. It's what you're doing.

linking verbs show a relationship between the main noun (also called
the subject) and another word that describes that noun. The describing
word can be an adjective or another noun. The most common linking verb
is to be and its forms am, is, are, was, were, be, being, and been.

My cat is furry.
My childhood dog was a labrador.

Other common linking verbs

include appear, become, feel, grow, look, remain, seem, smell, sound, sta
y, taste, and turn.
If left too long, the milk may turn sour.
I feel refreshed after that nap.

Definition: All sentences need at least one main verb; however,

certain tenses, sentence structures, and ideas require a helping verb (also
called an auxiliary verb), which assists the main verb to form a complete
thought. Without helping verbs, certain ideas would be impossible to
express, and our speech and writing would be dull and incomplete.

Verb Phrases
Helping verbs and main verbs combine to form verb phrases. The main
verb is always the last verb in the phrase.
Helping Verb + Main Verb = Verb Phrase

Common Helping Verbs

Below you will learn about the most common helping verbs and how
they're used. You'll notice that many helping verbs are used in specific
verb tenses. The tense of a verb tells us the time period when an action
occurs, such as in the present, past, or future.
 To be: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been
 Passive Voice
The verb to be is also used in the passive voice, which combines the
forms of to be with verbs ending in -ed or -en. These verbs are
called participles.
Make sure all your assignments are completed by Thursday.
are + completed = verb phrase
This sentence was written.
was + written = verb phrase

Emphasis
Finally, you can use to do as an emphatic verb to help clarify or add
intensity to the main verb.
Yes, I do know your Uncle Joe.
There may have been confusion about whether you know Uncle Joe or
not. The helping verb do is used to make it crystal clear that you know
him.
I did buy milk yesterday.
Here, to do is in the past tense. The person making the statement is
clarifying that he or she already bought milk.

ADVERB

Definition: Each sentence has a word which adds something about the
verb is called ‘adverb’.

Examples:

 Sita is singing badly.

 Birds are flying fastly.
 Ram plays cricket well.

ADJECTIVE
Definition: Describing words are called ‘adjective’ because they add
something about the meaning of noun.

Examples:

 Ram is a big boy.

 Govind is poor but honest.

PREPOSITION

Definition: The word which tells relation between one thing and person
or between two persons or things, is called ‘preposition’.

Examples:

 The book is on the desk.

 The book is under the desk.
 The book is near the desk.
 The book is in the desk.
 The book is beside the desk.
 The book is above the desk.
 The book is below the desk.
 Other examples: into, up, of, for, from etc.

CONJUCTION

Definition: a ‘conjuction’ is a word which joins word or sentences

together.

Examples:

 Ram has gone and Arjun has come.

 Do you work or shall I punish you?
 I called him but he did not hear me.
 I did not come because you did not call me.
 Other examples: else, before, if, unless, though, till, until, after, as
when, since, that, for, whether etc.

Correlative Conjuction:

Definition: Conjuction which are used in pair are called as ‘correlaive

conjuction.

Examples:

 Both –and
 Either-or
 Neither-nor
 Whether-or
 Not only-but also

INTERJECTION

Definition: An ‘interjection’ is a word used to express sudden feeling in

mind.

Examples:

 Hurray! Our country won.

 Alas! We lost the match.
 Hush! Someone is coming.
 Bravo! Well done.
 Hello Govind! How are you?