What is Grammar ?
The set of rules that governs and explains the methods “how words can be used, classified, structured, combined to form coherent sentences in written & spoken manner” in a particular language.
What are the fundamental elements of English Grammar ?
The fundamental elements of English Grammar are :
- Parts Of Speech
- Inflection
- Syntax
- Punctuation
- Tense & Aspect
Each of these are discrete, but are intrinsically linked together in meaning.
What are the Parts Of Speech ?
The Parts Of Speech are the categories to which different words are assigned based on their meaning, structure, function in a sentence. The main Parts Of Speech are :
- Nouns
- Pronouns
- Verbs
- Adjectives
- Adverbs
- Prepositions
- Conjunctions
- Interjections
There are other categories of words as well, that don’t easily fit in with the mentioned Parts Of Speech. Such as Particles, Determiners, Gerunds.
By understanding Parts Of Speech, we can better understand how & why, we structure words together to form sentences.
What is a Noun ?
Nouns are Words that refers to a person ( such as Raj or Doctor ), a place ( such as Bengaluru or City ), or a thing, a quality or an activity ( such as Tree, Joy, Cricket )
What is a Pronoun ?
A Word that is used instead of a noun or noun phrase. For example he, it, hers, me, them, etc.
What is a Verb ?
A Word or group of Words that expresses an action ( such as Eat ), an event ( such as Happen ) or a state ( such as Exist )
What is an Adjective ?
A Word that describes a person or thing. For example Huge, Green, Intelligent. In a Huge building, Green Ocean, an Intelligent answer.
What is an Adverb ?
A Word that adds more information about place, time, manner, cause or degree to a verb, an adjective, a phrase or another adverb. For example, Speak kindly, Incredibly deep, Just in time, Too quickly. Kindly, Incredibly, Just, Too are all Adverbs.
What is a Preposition ?
A Word or group of words such as in, from, to, out of, on behalf of, used before a noun or pronoun to show place, position, time or method.
What is a Conjunction ?
A Word that joins words, phrases or sentences. For example And, But, Or, Because.
What is an Interjection ?
A short sound, word or phrase spoken suddenly to express an emotion. For example Oh!, Look Out!, Ow! are Interjections.
What is a Particle ?
An Adverb or a preposition that can combine with a verb to make a phrasal verb. For example “She tore up the letter”. The word up is a particle.
What is a Determiner ?
Determiner is used to introduce a Noun or Noun Phrase. For example A word such as the, some, my, etc that comes before a Noun to show how the Noun is being used.
What is a Gerund ?
A Noun in the form of the present participle of a Verb that is ending in -ing. For example Travelling in the sentence “I preferred travelling alone”.
What is Inflection ?
A change in the form of a Word, especially the ending, according to it’s grammatical function in a sentence. Such as tense, mood, person, number, case, gender.
There are two categories of Inflection
- Conjugation
- Declension
Conjugation refers to the Inflection of Verbs, While Declension refers to the inflection of Nouns, Pronouns, Adjectives, Adverbs.
What is Syntax ?
The rules & patterns that govern how Words and Phrases are put together to form grammatically correct sentences in a language.
What is Punctuation ?
The Marks such as Full Stop, Comma, Brackets used in Writing, Printing to separate sentences & their elements and to clarify meaning.
What is Tense & Aspect ?
Tense refers to the form of a Verb that indicates the time of an action or state of being.
There are technically only two grammatical tenses in English. The Past & The Present. English is considered not to have a true Future Tense as Verbs do not have a specific conjugated form to reflect the future. English relies on auxillary Verbs like “Will” or “Shall” or constructions like “Going To” to express future actions.
Aspect is a Verb’s characteristic that indicates how an action or state relates to the flow of time. It describes whether an action is completed, ongoing or repeated. Aspects combined with tense, create a more nuanced understanding of the time of events.
* Only the basics of English Grammar are mentioned in brief on this page. There is lot’s more to know. EVo will include detailed Grammar in the Test’s solving Videos.