Saturday, May 10, 2014

Conjunctions

A conjunction is a word that "joins". A conjunction joins two parts of a sentence.

Here are some example conjunctions:

Coordinating Conjunctions Subordinating Conjunctions
and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so although, because, since, unless

We can consider conjunctions from three aspects.


Form


Conjunctions have three basic forms:
  • Single Word
  • for example: and, but, because, although
  • Compound (often ending with as or that)
  • for example: provided that, as long as, in order that
  • Correlative (surrounding an adverb or adjective)
  • for example: so...that
    Function


    Conjunctions have two basic functions or "jobs":

  • Coordinating conjunctions
  • are used to join two parts of a sentence that are grammatically equal. The two parts may be single words or clauses, for example: - Jack and Jill went up the hill. - The water was warm, but I didn't go swimming.
  • Subordinating conjunctions
  • are used to join a subordinate dependent clause to a main clause, for example: - I went swimming although it was cold.


    Position

  • Coordinating conjunctions
  • always come between the words or clauses that they join.
  • Subordinating conjunctions
  • Adverbs Position

    Adverbs have three main positions in the sentence:
    1. Front (before the subject):
    2. -Now we will study adverbs.
    3. Middle (between the subject and the main verb):
    4. - We often study adverbs.
    5. End (after the verb or object):
    6. - We study adverbs carefully.
    Adverbs of Frequency
    always, sometimes, never...

    Adverbs Function

    The principal job of an adverb is to modify (give more information about) verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. In the following examples, the adverb is in bold and the word that it modifies is in italics.
    Modify a verb:
    - John speaks loudly. (How does John speak?)
    - Mary lives locally. (Where does Mary live?)
    - She never smokes. (When does she smoke?)
    Modify an adjective:
    - He is really handsome.
    Modify another adverb:
    - She drives incredibly slowly. But adverbs have other functions, too. They can:
    Modify a whole sentence:
    - Obviously, I can't know everything.
    Modify a prepositional phrase:
    - It's immediately inside the door.

    Adverbs Froms

    Many adverbs end in -ly. We form such adverbs by adding -ly to the adjective. Here are some

    Examples

    quickly,softly,strongly,honestly,interestingly

    But not all words that end in -ly are adverbs. "Friendly", for example, is an adjective.

    Some adverbs have no particular form, for example:

    well, fast, very, never, always, often, still

    Friday, May 9, 2014

    English Grammar Preposition

    A preposition is a word governing, and usually coming in front of, a noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or element,as in:
    1. She left before breakfast.
    2. What did you come for?
      (For what did you come?)

    English Grammar Preposition List

    There are about 150 prepositions in English. Yet this is a very small number when you think of the thousands of other words (nouns, verbs etc). Prepositions are important words. We use individual prepositions more frequently than other individual words. In fact, the prepositions of, to and in are among the ten most frequent words in English. Here is a short list of 70 of the more common one-word prepositions. Many of these prepositions have more than one meaning. Please refer to a dictionary for precise meaning and usage.
    1. aboard 2. about 3. above 4. across
    5. after 6. against 7. along 8. amid
    9. among 10. anti 11. around 12. as
    13. at 14. before 15. behind 16. below
    17. beneath 18. beside 19. besides 20. between
    21. beyond 22. but 23. by 24. concerning
    25. considering 26. despite 27. down 28. during
    29. except 30. excepting 31. excluding 32. following
    33. for 34. from 35. in 36. inside
    37. into 38. like 39. minus 40. near
    41. of 42. off 43. on 44. onto
    45. opposite 46. outside 47. over 48. past
    49. per 50. plus 51. regarding 52. round
    53. save 54. since 55. than 56. through
    57. to 58. toward 59. towards 60. under
    61. underneath 62. unlike 63. until 64. up
    65. upon 66. versus 67. via 68. with
    69. within 70. without ... ...

    English Grammar Preposition Rules

    There is one very simple rule about prepositions. And, unlike most rules, this rule has no exceptions.
    Rule
    A preposition is followed by a "noun". It is never followed by a verb.
    By "noun" we include:
    1. noun (dog, money, love)
    2. proper noun (name) (Bangkok, Mary)


  • pronoun (you, him, us)
  • noun group (my first job)
  • gerund (swimming)
  • A preposition cannot be followed by a verb. If we want to follow a preposition by a verb, we must use the "-ing" form which is really a gerund or verb in noun form. In the following sentences, why is "to" followed by a verb? That should be impossible, according to the above rule:
    I would like to go now.
    She used to smoke. Here are some examples:
    Subject + verb preposition "noun"
    The food is on the table.
    She lives in Japan.
    Tara is looking for you.
    The letter is under your blue book.
    Pascal is used to English people.
    She isn't used to working.
    I ate before coming.

    Answer to Quick Quiz: In these sentences, "to" is not a preposition. It is part of the infinitive
    ("to go", "to smoke").
    Prepositions of Place:
    at, in, on
    In general, we use:
    1. at for a POINT
    2. in for an ENCLOSED SPACE
    3. on for a SURFACE
    at in on
    POINT ENCLOSED SPACE SURFACE
    at the corner in the garden on the wall
    at the bus stop in London on the ceiling
    at the door in France on the door
    at the top of the page in a box on the cover
    at the end of the road in my pocket on the floor
    at the entrance in my wallet on the carpet
    at the crossroads in a building on the menu
    at the entrance in a car on a page

    Look at these examples:


  • Jane is waiting for you at the bus stop.
  • The shop is at the end of the street.
  • My plane stopped at Dubai and Hanoi and arrived in Bangkok two hours late.
  • When will you arrive at the office?
  • Do you work in an office?
  • I have a meeting in New York.
  • Do you live in Japan?
  • Jupiter is in the Solar System.
  • The author's name is on the cover of the book.
  • There are no prices on this menu.
  • You are standing on my foot.
  • There was a "no smoking" sign on the wall.
  • I live on the 7th floor at 21 Oxford Street in London.


  • Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in these standard expressions:
    at in on
    at home in a car on a bus
    at work in a taxi on a train
    at school in a helicopter on a plane
    at university in a boat on a ship
    at college in a lift (elevator) on a bicycle, on a motorbike
    at the top in the newspaper on a horse, on an elephant
    at the bottom in the sky on the radio, on television
    at the side in a row on the left, on the right
    at reception in Oxford Street on the way

    Prepositions of Time: at, in, on
    We use:


  • at for a PRECISE TIME
  • in for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS
  • on for DAYS and DATES

  • at in on
    PRECISE TIME MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS DAYS and DATES
    at 3 o'clock in May on Sunday
    at 10.30am in summer on Tuesdays
    at noon in the summer on 6 March
    at dinnertime in 1990 on 25 Dec. 2010
    at bedtime in the 1990s on Christmas Day
    at sunrise in the next century on Independence Day
    at sunset in the Ice Age on my birthday
    at the moment in the past/future on New Year's Eve

    Look at these examples:


  • I have a meeting at 9am.
  • The shop closes at midnight.
  • Jane went home at lunchtime.
  • In England, it often snows in December.
  • Do you think we will go to Jupiter in the future?
  • There should be a lot of progress in the next century.
  • Do you work on Mondays?
  • Her birthday is on 20 November.
  • Where will you be on New Year's Day?


  • Notice the use of the preposition of time at in the following standard expressions:
    Expression Example
    at night The stars shine at night.
    at the weekend I don't usually work at the weekend.
    at Christmas/Easter I stay with my family at Christmas.
    at the same time We finished the test at the same time.
    at present He's not home at present. Try later.

    Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common expressions:
    in on
    in the morning on Tuesday morning
    in the mornings on Saturday mornings
    in the afternoon(s) on Sunday afternoons
    in the evening(s) on Monday evening

    When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at, in, on.


  • I went to London last June. (not in last June)
  • He's coming back next Tuesday. (not on next Tuesday)
  • I go home every Easter. (not at every Easter)
  • We'll call you this evening. (not in this evening)