Grammar
Introduction
What does the word Grammar mean to you? Is it an uncomfortable feeling of terror. When the word, 'Grammar', is mentioned in a class of students learning any language, there is the usual collective sigh. Many students dislike the learning of Grammar - the rules of joining words together to build sentences to communicate - but it is an equally important part of learning a foreign language. Learning the rules of putting words together in English need not be painful. Every journey begins with a single step, so the journey of learning these rules should be taken one step at a time. Set your goals, know what you want to achieve and then be brave enough to take the first step. The first step is always the hardest!
Parts of Speech
So to begin with, the following mind map helps to briefly illustrate the eight parts of speech which make up English Grammar. This I hope will give you a simple overview of English Grammar. In the future, I will post more mind maps which will focus more on the individual parts of speech: nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions and interjections.
The Parts of Speech mind map is below but you may wish to use this link to see it more clearly: English Parts of Speech Mind Map.
What does the word Grammar mean to you? Is it an uncomfortable feeling of terror. When the word, 'Grammar', is mentioned in a class of students learning any language, there is the usual collective sigh. Many students dislike the learning of Grammar - the rules of joining words together to build sentences to communicate - but it is an equally important part of learning a foreign language. Learning the rules of putting words together in English need not be painful. Every journey begins with a single step, so the journey of learning these rules should be taken one step at a time. Set your goals, know what you want to achieve and then be brave enough to take the first step. The first step is always the hardest!
Parts of Speech
So to begin with, the following mind map helps to briefly illustrate the eight parts of speech which make up English Grammar. This I hope will give you a simple overview of English Grammar. In the future, I will post more mind maps which will focus more on the individual parts of speech: nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions and interjections.
The Parts of Speech mind map is below but you may wish to use this link to see it more clearly: English Parts of Speech Mind Map.
To see more mind maps click the link - Mr Richard's Mind Maps at Bigger Plate
Nouns
Everything around you - what you can see, hear, touch, taste or smell has a name. It is called a noun. A noun simply names a person, place, thing or idea.
A noun can be a common everyday thing like water, food, car or computer. It can be the name of an animal for example cat or dog; the name of a person, such as a teacher or doctor; or the name of a place like a supermarket or garage.
Proper nouns are the names of special places like cities, countries, shops and companies, and also the names of people. They are different from common nouns in that the first letter of a proper noun is always a capital letter, for example Riyadh and Saudi Arabia. Note that days of the week and months of the year are also proper nouns so each of these words also begins with a capital letter.
A collective noun is the name for a group of people, animals or things. Some examples: a class of students, a team of football players, or a pride of lions.
Some nouns are made up of two nouns joined together. For example: white and board to make whiteboard or foot and ball to make football.
There are some nouns which are abstract. This means that they name an idea, something which cannot be sensed (seen, heard, touched, tasted or smelled). For example: happiness, laughter, days of the week, and months of the year.
The last type of noun I will explain here is a gerund, which is a noun made from a verb by adding the suffix -ing. For example: run and -ing becomes running. An example of a sentence using a gerund: The boys like running along the beach. What do the boys like? They like running. Running is being used as a noun.
The mind map below is a simple overview of nouns and also gives examples for each of the different types of nouns already mentioned. You may wish to use the following link to see this map more clearly: Noun Mind Map.
Everything around you - what you can see, hear, touch, taste or smell has a name. It is called a noun. A noun simply names a person, place, thing or idea.
A noun can be a common everyday thing like water, food, car or computer. It can be the name of an animal for example cat or dog; the name of a person, such as a teacher or doctor; or the name of a place like a supermarket or garage.
Proper nouns are the names of special places like cities, countries, shops and companies, and also the names of people. They are different from common nouns in that the first letter of a proper noun is always a capital letter, for example Riyadh and Saudi Arabia. Note that days of the week and months of the year are also proper nouns so each of these words also begins with a capital letter.
A collective noun is the name for a group of people, animals or things. Some examples: a class of students, a team of football players, or a pride of lions.
Some nouns are made up of two nouns joined together. For example: white and board to make whiteboard or foot and ball to make football.
There are some nouns which are abstract. This means that they name an idea, something which cannot be sensed (seen, heard, touched, tasted or smelled). For example: happiness, laughter, days of the week, and months of the year.
The last type of noun I will explain here is a gerund, which is a noun made from a verb by adding the suffix -ing. For example: run and -ing becomes running. An example of a sentence using a gerund: The boys like running along the beach. What do the boys like? They like running. Running is being used as a noun.
The mind map below is a simple overview of nouns and also gives examples for each of the different types of nouns already mentioned. You may wish to use the following link to see this map more clearly: Noun Mind Map.
To see more mind maps click the link - Mr Richard's Mind Maps at Bigger Plate
Abstract Nouns
Previously I explained what nouns are and the different types. For a quick review you can refer to the Mind Map of Nouns.
Abstract nouns name an idea which can not be sensed, that is can not be seen, heard, touched, tasted or smelled.
They can express qualities such as for example: awareness, bravery, determination and intelligence.
Abstract nouns are also used to express feelings such as happiness or laughter.
All units of time are abstract nouns: seconds, minutes, days, weeks, months, seasons and years.
The mind map below is a simple review of abstract nouns and also gives examples. You may wish to use the following link to see this map more clearly: Mind Map of Abstract Nouns.
Previously I explained what nouns are and the different types. For a quick review you can refer to the Mind Map of Nouns.
Abstract nouns name an idea which can not be sensed, that is can not be seen, heard, touched, tasted or smelled.
They can express qualities such as for example: awareness, bravery, determination and intelligence.
Abstract nouns are also used to express feelings such as happiness or laughter.
All units of time are abstract nouns: seconds, minutes, days, weeks, months, seasons and years.
The mind map below is a simple review of abstract nouns and also gives examples. You may wish to use the following link to see this map more clearly: Mind Map of Abstract Nouns.
To see more mind maps click the link - Mr Richard's Mind Maps at Bigger Plate
Adjectives
Previously we have talked about nouns. Nouns are the names of people, places or things. People, places and things can all be described using words called adjectives. Adjectives describe nouns.
Examples:
the clean floor or the floor is clean
the dirty floor or the floor is dirty
When we compare two things (or people) we use a different form of the adjective called a comparative.
For short adjectives we add the suffix -er to make the comparative, but if the
adjective ends in -y, the comparative is formed my removing the -y and adding -ier.
Examples:
the cleaner floor or the floor is cleaner
the dirtier floor or the floor is dirtier
When we compare three or more things (or people) we use another form of the adjective called a superlative.
For short adjectives we add the suffix -est to make the superlative, but if the
adjective ends in -y, the superlative is formed my removing the -y and adding -iest.
Examples:
the cleanest floor or that floor is the cleanest of all
the dirtiest floor or that floor is the dirtiest of all
All the examples above have used short adjectives as opposed to long adjectives. Long adjectives have two or more syllables.
Examples:
intelligent (in-tel-li-gent - 4 syllables)
wonderful (won-der-ful - 3 syllables)
modern (mo-dern - 2 syllables)
When we form the comparative for these long adjectives we can not simply add the suffix -er to the word. Instead, we must say .... more intelligent ... or ... more wonderful or ... more modern ...
Similarly, when we form the superlative for these long adjectives we must say ... the most intelligent ... or the most wonderful or ... the most modern ...
All the examples of adjectives above are regular. However, there are some adjectives which are irregular and the comparative and superlative forms are not formed using the rules for regular adjectives. They must be learned by heart. An example of an irregular adjective is good, its comparative form is better and its superlative form is the best.
More examples of irregular adjectives with their comparative and superlative forms are shown below in the mind map - Adjectives.
Adjective phrases and adjectives clauses can also describe a noun. They simply function in the same way as a single adjective but are either: a group of words without a verb (phrase) or with a verb (clause) used to describe a noun.
The following mind map gives you an overview and a review of adjectives which has been explained already.
To view this mind map more clearly you may wish to use the following link:
Mind Map - Adjective.
Previously we have talked about nouns. Nouns are the names of people, places or things. People, places and things can all be described using words called adjectives. Adjectives describe nouns.
Examples:
the clean floor or the floor is clean
the dirty floor or the floor is dirty
When we compare two things (or people) we use a different form of the adjective called a comparative.
For short adjectives we add the suffix -er to make the comparative, but if the
adjective ends in -y, the comparative is formed my removing the -y and adding -ier.
Examples:
the cleaner floor or the floor is cleaner
the dirtier floor or the floor is dirtier
When we compare three or more things (or people) we use another form of the adjective called a superlative.
For short adjectives we add the suffix -est to make the superlative, but if the
adjective ends in -y, the superlative is formed my removing the -y and adding -iest.
Examples:
the cleanest floor or that floor is the cleanest of all
the dirtiest floor or that floor is the dirtiest of all
All the examples above have used short adjectives as opposed to long adjectives. Long adjectives have two or more syllables.
Examples:
intelligent (in-tel-li-gent - 4 syllables)
wonderful (won-der-ful - 3 syllables)
modern (mo-dern - 2 syllables)
When we form the comparative for these long adjectives we can not simply add the suffix -er to the word. Instead, we must say .... more intelligent ... or ... more wonderful or ... more modern ...
Similarly, when we form the superlative for these long adjectives we must say ... the most intelligent ... or the most wonderful or ... the most modern ...
All the examples of adjectives above are regular. However, there are some adjectives which are irregular and the comparative and superlative forms are not formed using the rules for regular adjectives. They must be learned by heart. An example of an irregular adjective is good, its comparative form is better and its superlative form is the best.
More examples of irregular adjectives with their comparative and superlative forms are shown below in the mind map - Adjectives.
Adjective phrases and adjectives clauses can also describe a noun. They simply function in the same way as a single adjective but are either: a group of words without a verb (phrase) or with a verb (clause) used to describe a noun.
The following mind map gives you an overview and a review of adjectives which has been explained already.
To view this mind map more clearly you may wish to use the following link:
Mind Map - Adjective.
To see more mind maps click the link - Mr Richard's Mind Maps at Bigger Plate