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Title: Parts of Speech in English
Description: The notes contains comprehensive information on the English parts of speech.

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NOUNS
A noun is a word that refers to person, place, thing, event, substance or quality; nouns can be
either countable or uncountable
...

Here are some uncountable nouns which may be countable in other languages
...
Damages means 'money paid in compensation'
...

b
...

I had a good education
...

c
...

Thanks
...

d
...
Works can mean 'factory':
a steel works
...
We cannot use clothes in the singular or with a number
...
We can say four garments or four items of clothing
...
She wants to do research on gender equality
...
For example:
The following nouns are can be treated as countable in one respect and uncountable in another
context:
Countable

Uncountable

a glass/some glasses of water

some glass for the window my glasses (= spectacles

a daily paper (= newspaper)

some writing paper my papers (= documents)

an ice (= ice-cream)

ice on the road

an iron (for ironing clothes)

iron (a metal)

a tin of beans

tin (a metal)

a bedside light (= lamp)

the speed of light

a hair/hairs on your collar

comb your hair

a girl in a red dress

wearing evening dress

I've been here lots of times
...


(= occasions)

an interesting experience

experience in the job

a small business (= company)

do business (- buying and selling)

a property (= building)

some property (= what someone owns)

The USA is a democracy
...

To form the plural, we add s (doors, planes) or es (stewardesses)
...

1
...
Some nouns have an irregular plural, e
...
man men
...

Singular (-is) Plural (-es)
axis

axes

analysis

analyses

crisis

crises

thesis

theses

datum

data

memorandum memoranda
bacterium

bacteria

stratum

strata

curriculum

curricula

index

indices (or indexes)

appendix appendices (or appendixes, in a medical context)
vortex

vortices

phenomenon phenomena
criterion

criteria

focus

foci (also focuses)

radius

radii (also radiuses)

fungus

fungi

nucleus

nuclei

cactus

cacti

alumnus

alumni

octopus

octopuses (or octopi)

hippopotamus hippopotami

3
...
As compound is made up of two or mor words used as one:
Weekends, bedrooms, motor-bikes, glass dishes
4
...

Breakdowns, walk-outs, check-ups, break-ins
5
...

Doctors of Philosophy, mothers-in-law, heads-of- state, editors- in- chief
And when an adverb follows a noun in er, we add s/es to the noun
...

women jockeys (= jockeys who are women),
6
...

the 1950s/the 1950's most MPs/most MP's
Use of Singular and plural Nouns
We use the singular to talk about one thing
...
We waited for an hour
...
I've lost my job
...
We use the plural for more than one
...
We waited for one and a quarter hours
...
I've got one or two jobs to do
...
For a negative or unknown quantity, we normally use the plural
...

Have you read any good books lately?
We can use the singular after no meaning 'not a single one'
...

The Possessive Form
To form the possessive, we add an apostrophe + s to a singular noun
we add an apostrophe to a plural noun ending in s; and we add an apostrophe + s to a plural
not ending in s
...
After a singular noun ending in s, we normally add 's: the boss's office, Chris's address
...
If there is a short phrase after the noun, then the possessive ending comes after the phrase
...
We can leave out the noun after the possessive if the meaning is clear without it
...

4
...

I found someone's coat here
...

5
...

I've just been to Peter and Zoe's flat
...

6
...

Anita is my cousin - my mother's brother's daughter
We use the possessive form to express a relation, often the fact that someone has
something or that something belongs to someone
...
There is a pattern with of which has the same meaning as the possessive
...
But often only one form is possible
...

2
...

my friend's sister the dog's bone the Atkinsons' garden
But we use the of-pattern with people when there is a long phrase or a clause
...

In the hall hung the coats of all the people attending the reception
...

the Duchess of Glastonbury's jewellery
a There's a children's playground here
...

a girls' school, the men's toilet, a boy's jacket
We found a bird's nest
...

The girl's reply surprised us
...

Susan's promotion is well deserved
...

The player's fitness is in question
...

It can also express length of time
...

We can use the possessive without a following noun when we talk about
someone's home or shop
...

There's a policeman outside the McPhersons' (house/flat)
...

We can also use company names
...

We ate at Maxime's (Restaurant)
...

There are three kinds of Conjunctions
...
Coordinating Conjunctions and their Usage
• and: in addition
• He tried and succeeded
...

• or: alternatively
• Did you go out or stay at home?
• nor: and neither
• I did not see the fog, nor did they
...

2
...
and
• He is both intelligent and good-natured
...
or
• I will either go for a walk or read a book
...
nor
• He is neither rich nor famous
...
then
• If that is true, then what happened is not surprising
...
than
• No sooner had I reached the stop, than the bus came
...
but also
• She is not only clever, but also hard-working
...
than
• I would rather go swimming than go to the library
...
or
• Have you decided whether you will come or not?
3
...
later in time:
After the train left, we went home
...
in spite of the fact that:
Although it was after midnight, we did not feel tired
...
earlier than:
I arrived before the stores were open
...
for the reason that:
We had to wait, because we arrived early
...
on condition that:
If she is here, we will see her
...
on condition that:
All will be well, providing you are careful
...
from a past time:
I have been here since the sun rose
...
as, because:
Since you are here, you can help me
...
consequently:
It was raining, so we did not go out
...
in order that:
I am saving money so that I can buy a bicycle
...

e
...
I am saving money so that I can buy a bicycle
...
except when, if not:
Unless he helps us, we cannot succeed
...
because: Whereas this is a public building, it is open to
everyone
...
on the other hand: He is short, whereas you are tall
...
if: I do not know whether she was invited
...
at the time when:
While it was snowing, we played cards
...
on the other hand:
He is rich, while his friend is poor
...
although: While I am not an expert, I will do my best
...
in a similar way:/to pose oneself
...

As long as
1
...

2
...

Until or till
1
...

As soon as
1
...

As though
1
...

Even if
1
...

In case
1
...

Or else
1
...
The two indefinite articles- a and an- and the definite
article the play an important role in a text which contains a few sentences or many sentences
...
They can be used in a
general statement or to introduce a subject which has not been previously mentioned
...
(General – means all baseballs)
I saw a boy in the street
...
)
An is used before words that begin with a vowel sound
...

a book , an apple
Some words can be confusing because the spelling does not indicate the pronunciation
...

The following words begin with a vowel sound and thus must always be preceded by An:
Hour, heir, herbal, honor, uncle, umbrella, unnatural, Understanding
The initial sound of the word that immediately follows the indefinite article will
determine whether is should be a or an
...

The boy in the corner is my friend ( The speaker and the listener know which boy is question
...
)
With non-count nouns, one uses the article if speaking in specified terms, but uses no
article if speaking in general
...
(general – all sugar)
The sugar on the table is form Cuba
...
( all oranges)
Athletes should follow a well-balanced diet
...
In its original numerical sense of one:
Twelve inches make a foot
...

A word to the wise is sufficient
...

2
...

One evening a beggar came to my door
...
In the sense of any, to single out an individual as the representative of a class:
A pupil should obey his teacher
...

4
...
When we talk about a particular person or thing, or one already referred to (that is, when it is
clear from the context which one already referred to (that is, when it is clear from the constant
which one we mean):
The book you want is out of print
...
)
Let's go to the park
...
When a singular noun is meant to represent a whole class:
The cow is a useful animal
...
"]
The horse is a noble animal
...


The rose is the sweetest of all flowers
...

[Do not say, "a kind of a fig tree"
...
]
The two nouns man and woman can be used in a general sense without either article
...

Woman is man's mate
...

A woman is more sensitive than a man
...
Before some proper names, viz
...
g
...
g
...
g
...
g
...
g
...
g
...
g
...
Before the names of certain books:
The Vedas, the Puranas, the Iliad, the Ramayana
...

5
...

[Note-Sometimes the is placed before a common noun to give it the meaning of an
Abstract noun; as, At last the wamor(the warlike or martial spirit) in him was thoroughly
aroused
...
Before a proper noun when it is qualified by an adjective or a defining adjectival clause:
The great Caesar, the immortal Shakespeare
...
Roy whom you met last night is my uncle
...
With superlatives:

The darkest cloud has a silver lining
...

8
...

9
...

10
...

11
...

12
...

(= by how much more, by so much the merrier)
The more they get, the more they want
...

1
...

The school is in the centre of the village
...

Vegetables are delivered to the prison twice a week
...
There are a number of other nouns which are without the in similar contexts
...

The bed felt very uncomfortable
...

3
...

The guilty men were sent to a high-security prison
...

When the noun is part of a name, there is usually no article
...

4
...

Bed; in bed, go to bed (to sleep); get out of bed, sit on the bed, make the bed
Church; in/at church, go to church (to a service) class do work in class or for homework
Court; appear in court; But explain to the court
Home; at home; But in the house; go/come home
Hospital; in hospital (as a patient) (USA: in the hospital); taken to hospital (as
a patient); But at the hospital,
market; take animals to market; But at/in the market; put a house on the
market (= offer it for sale)
prison: in prison, go to prison (as a prisoner); released from prison; Also in
jail etc
school; in/at school, go to school (as a pupil)
sea: at sea (= sailing), go to sea (as a sailor); But on the sea, near/by the sea, at the seaside
town: in town, go to town, leave town (one's home town or a town visited regularly); But in the
town centre
university: (studying) at university, go to university (to study); But at/to the
university is also possible and is normal in the USA
...
g
...

Articles Used with in Phrases of Time
In a phrase of time, we often use a singular noun without an article
...

a very cold winter
the Monday before the holiday
the winter when we had all that snow
1
...
in the year 1981
The war lasted from 1812 to 1815
...
Seasons
If winter comes, can spring be far behind?
We always go on holiday in (the) summer
...
Months
June is a good month to go away
...

That was the June we got married
...
Special times of the year
I hate Christmas
...

5
...

Our visitors are coming on
Saturday
...

Rosie saw her husband again the Easter
after their divorce
...

This happened on a Saturday in July
...

6
...

We'll be home before dark
...

at night, by day/night

It was a marvellous sunset
...

in/during the day/the night/the
morning/the afternoon/the evening
In phrases of time, we normally use these nouns on their own; daybreak, dawn, sunrise;
midday, noon; dusk, twilight, sunset; nightfall, dark; midnight
...
g
...

7
...

I had a sandwich for lunch
...

The meal was served at half past seven
...

Bruce and Wendy enjoyed a delicious lunch at Mario's
...
Before names of substances and abstract nouns (i
...
uncountable nouns) used in a general
sense:
Sugar is bad for your teeth
...

Wisdom is the gift of heaven
...

Virtue is its own reward
...

I can't forget the kindness with which he treated me
...
Before plural countable nouns used in a general sense:
Children like chocolates
...
Note that such nouns take the when used with a particular
meaning; as,
Where arc the children? (= our children)
3
...
g
...
(e
...
Europe, Pakistan, Nagpur),
names of individual mountains (e
...
Mount Everest), individual islands, lakes, hills, etc
...
Before names of meals (used in a general sense); as,
What time do you have lunch?
Dinner is ready
...
We use the when
we specify
...

The dinner we had at the Tourist Hotel was very nice
5
...

They speak Punjabi at home
...
Before school, college, university, church, bed, hospital, prison, when these places are visited
or used for their primary purpose; as,
I learnt French at school
...

He stays in bed till nine every morning
...

Note- The is used with these words when we refer to them as a definite place, building or object
rather than to the normal activity that goes on there; as,
The school is very near my home
...

The bed is broken
...

7
...


Aunt wants you to see her
...

8
...
e
...

Mr
...

Elizabeth was crowned Queen
...
With a noun in apposition, especially in newspaper style
...
In certain phrases consisting of a transitive verb followed by its object:
to catch fire, to take breath, to give battle, to cast anchor, to send word, to bring word, to give
ear, to lay siege, to set sail, to lose heart, to set foot, to leave home, to strike root, to take offence
...
In some fixed expressions where the noun is repeated or there is a contrast
between the two nouns
...

The whole thing has been a fiasco from start to finish
...
In a phrase with by expressing means of transport
...

13
...

Put the knife and fork on the tray
...

If no article is necessary, leave the space blank
...
Jason’s father bought him _a______ bicycle that he had wanted for his birthday
...
_The___ Statue of Liberty was a gift of friendship from ____ France to ____ united
States
...
Rita is studying ____ English and ____ math this semester
...
__The____ judge asked ___the___ witness to tell ___the___ truth
...
Please give me _a___ cup of ____ coffee with ___ cream and ___ sugar
...
__The__ big books on ___the_____ table are for my history class
...
No one in the____ Spanish class knew _the___ correct answer to _____ Mrs
...

8
...

9
...

10
...

11
...

12
...

13
...

14
...

15
...

16
...


PRONOUNS
A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun
...
PERSONAL PRONOUNS
Subject
Singular

First person
Second person

Plural

Object

I

me

you

you

Third person

she/he/it

First person

we

us

Second person

you

you

Third person

they

A singular pronoun is used to refer to a singular noun

him/her/it

them

a
...
She was looking for the teacher
b
...
He was looking for the teacher
c
...
It may be sick
...
They were looking for the teacher
...

(i) the person speaking
...

The pronouns I and we, which denote the person or persons speaking, are said to be
personal pronouns of the first person
...

You is used both in the singular and plural
...
It, although it denotes the thing spoken of,
is also called a personal pronoun of the Third Person
...
]
We always say the following when starting a sentence:
'You and I' not 'I and you'
...

'Hari and I' not 'I and Hari'
...

You and I must work together
...

Joy and I are old school friends
...


But we use pronouns in objective case after the verb in a sentence or after a preposition:
The presents are for you and me (Not, I)
My uncle asked my brother and me to dinner
...

2
...

everyone

someone

anyone

no one

everybody

somebody

anybody

nobody

everything

something

anything

nothing

A singular personal pronoun is used in formal English to refer to an indefinite pronoun
...

Everyone has his/her own ideas
...
POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE & PRONOUNS
Possessive Adjective

Possessive Pronoun

my

mine

your

yours

his/her/its

his/hers/its

our

ours

your

yours

their

theirs

A possessive adjective is used only with a noun following it
...
That is my pen
b
...

a
...
The bag is hers
...
The books on the table is mine
...
It is used to
identify another person as one friend among many friends
...
(a friend of mine = one of my friend, but not
my only friend)
We ate dinner with a friend of Bill’s
...

The Smiths are friends of mine
...

Subject Object
Singular 1st

Possessive Possessive Reflexive
Adjective Pronoun

Pronoun

I

me

my

mine

Myself

You

you

your

yours

Yourself

person
2nd
person
3rd
person

she/he/it him/her/it his/her/its

his/hers/its himself/hers
elf
/itself

Plural

1st

We

us

our

ours

Ourselves

You

you

your

yours

Yourselves

they

them

their

theirs

Themselves

person
2nd
person
3rd
person

I hurt myself
...

You will hurt yourself
...

I like you more than she(= does)
...

Such as is usually followed by the subjective case
I wouldn’t give it to a man such as he
...

But, Except
The reverse process has taken place with these two words
...

There was no one there except me
Exclamation is usually followed by the objective case
What! Me fight a big chap like him? Not me!

Fancy him dying so young, and him only fifty!
Demonstrative Pronouns
A demonstrative pronoun points to a specific thing or things to indicate whether they are close or
far, in space and/or time
...
that and those may refer
to something that is not close to you: that one there
...
For example:
when you are showing someone round the house: This is my room
...
They refer to an action going in one direction and
also back in the opposite direction
...

The two drivers blamed each other/one another for the accident
...

There is a possessive form
...
They often wear each other's/one another's
clothes
...

Relative Pronoun

Refers to

Who

Person(s)

Whom

Person(s)

Which

Thing(s)

Whose

Person(s) and thing(s)

That

Person(s), animal(s) and thing(s)

The difference between who and whom is that who may
be the subject of a verb; it is also often used as an object (informal English)
although this is frowned upon by some experts
...

Whom is used only as the object of a verb
...
This is illustrated in the examples below
...

Andrew stopped the police car that was driving past
...

We have a friend who/that plays the piano
...
For this reason, they are always
singular and as such followed by the verb in the singular
...

Examples:
Each of the boys gets a prize
...

Either of these roads leads to the railway station
...

Neither of the accusations is true
...
Let we/us all go for a walk except she/her, since she/her is so tired
...
Do you think he/him is stronger than I/me?
3
...
Help I/me carry she/her; she/her has fainted
...
Nobody could answer except I/me
...
Mr
...

7
...

8
...

9
...

10
...

10
...

11
...

12
...
It was I /me that gave you the alarm
...
Between you and I/me, I do not believe him
...
We are not so poor as They/them
...
Rama is as old as I/ me
...
He is known to my brother and I/ me
...
He is as good as I/ me
19
...

20
...

PREPOSITIONS

A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between an object – a noun or pronoun – and
other words in a sentence
...
It shows the
relationship between nouns and pronouns in the same sentence
...

Kinds of Prepositions
Prepositions may be arranged in the following classes:
Simple Prepositions which include at, by, for, from, in, of, off, on, out, though, till, to, up, with
...
)
About, above, across, along, amidst, among, amongst, around, before, behind, below,
beneath, beside, between, beyond, inside, outside, underneath, within, without
...
)
according to -- in accordance with -- in place of
agreeably to -- in addition to -- in reference to
along with -- in (on) behalf of -- in regard to
away from -- in case of -- in spite of
because of -- in comparison to -- instead of
by dint of -- in compliance with -- in the event of
by means of -- in consequence of -- on account of
by reason of -- in course of -- owing to
by virtue of -- in favour of -- with a view to
by way of -- in front of -- with an eye to
conformably to -- in lieu of -- with reference to
for the sake of -- in order to -- with regard to
He succeeded by dint of perseverance and sheer hard work
...

In consequence of his illness, he could not finish the work in time
...

With reference to your letter of date, we regret we cannot allow any further rebate
...


In course of time, he saw his mistake
...

On behalf of the staff, he read the address
...

In the event of 'his dying without an issue, his nephew would inherit the whole property
...

By reason of his perverse attitude, he estranged his best friends
...

Why don't you go along with your brother?
In accordance with your instructions, we have remitted the 'amount to your bankers
...

Agreeably to the terms of the settlement, we herewith enclose our cheque for $1000
...

By means of rope ladders they scaled the wall
...

In course of his research, he met with many difficulties
...

He could not attend school because of his father's serious illness
...

With a view to an amicable settlement, we offer you without prejudice $750 in full
settlement of all your claims up-to-date
...

Whatever he does, he does with an eye to the main chance
...
Mr
...

Regarding your inquiries regret to say that at present we are not interested in imitation silk
...

Touching (= with regard to) this matter,1 have not as yet made up my mind
Uses of Prepositions
(1) At, in and on: prepositions of place
She's at her desk
...
They're in the drawer
...
We use it when we see something as a point in space
...

There's someone at the door
...

We met at Daphne's party, didn't we?
We use at+ building when we are talking about the normal purpose of the
building
...
(= watching a play)
I bought these dishes at the supermarket
...
She's still at school
...

I had a cup of coffee at Angela's (house/flat)
...
30
...

We last met at the conference in Italy
...

On is two-dimensional
...

Don't leave your glass on the floor
...

We also use on for a line
...


The house is right on the main road, so it's a bit noisy
...

I haven't got any money on/ with me at the moment
...
We use it when we see something as all around
...

She looked again in her bag and, to her relief, there were her keys
...

Didn't I see you in/at the pool yesterday?
He lives in Perth
...

Who's that man in the green sweater?
There was a man sitting in the waiting room
...

we can use at when we use a place name instead of an institution or event - here, the
Edinburgh Festival; in suggests the city
- staying or living there
- a student at Manchester University
- the name of a particular organisation
- the kind of place

we use at to talk about buildings such as the dentist's, the supermarket, the bank, school, etc
...

for travel using taxis and cars
for travel using bus, coach, plane, or train;
but we use in if we want to emphasise inside the bus, etc
...

He's in Los Angeles on business
...

She works at Marks and Spencer
...
She works in a shoe shop
...

It was cold in the library
...
(= choosing a book)
I was in the bank when she came Sue
...
')
I read the paper in the taxi on the way
...

There were shelves over the fireplace and a bookcase in the corner
...
You turn left there
...

We finally arrived in Birmingham/at Land's End
...

You have to change trains at Birmingham
...

I've lived in the village all my life
...
(large area)
Their train stops at London Paddington
...
(Enclosed area)
They boys are at the library, reading
...
• The church is in/on Park Road
...

We can use at instead of in when we use a street name to refer to an institution in that street:
There was an important meeting of ministers at Downing Street today
...

Compare:
I'll meet you on the corner of the street, and • The lamp wawas in the corner of the room
...
We use at:
with exact points of time:
at midday, at midnight, at 3 o'clock, at 8
...
:
I'll see you at Easter
...


(In US and Australian English, 'on the weekend' is used, and this is now heard in informal British
English, too
...
:
I get paid at the end of the month
...
:
That morning at breakfast, my brother told us he was getting married
...

But notice that we use in with the middle of
...

I felt very restless in the night and had to take a sleeping tablet
...
• I'll be with you in a moment
...
g
...
g
...
g
...
:)
In the winter you can only use the road with a four-wheel drive vehicle
...

when we talk about how long it will be before something happens:

Uses of For and since
We use for with a period of time to say how long something continues
...
NOT during hours
I once stayed at that hotel for a week
...

We do not normally use for before a phrase with all or whole
...

We often use for and since with the perfect to say how long something has continued or when it
started
...
We haven't been to the theatre for months
...

The Parkers have lived here since 1985
...

We've been waiting since twelve o'clock
...

for two years, for a week, for two days, for a few minutes
since 1990, since last week, since Monday, since half past two
We can sometimes leave out for in informal English
...

We use during for a period which is a definite time
...

Compare these sentences
...
I'll stay (for) ten minutes
...
I'll wait until four o'clock
...
I'm leaving in ten minutes
...
:
The truck came towards them across/over the bridge
...

Once she was across/over the border, she knew she would be safe
...

The railway goes through a tunnel rather than over the top of the mountain
...

The programme was broadcast across Australia
...

Notice that we can say all over but not usually all across
...
right across the world
...
),
we use along
...

They walked along the footpath until they came to a small bridge
...

He enjoyed the peace and quiet as he walked through the forest
...
Compare:
She walked through the forest to get to her grandmother's house, and
•She spent a lot of her free time walking in the forest
...

She had painted thick, dark eyebrows above/over each eye
...
Compare:
The castle sat in the mountains above the town
...
(= directly overhead)
We use over, not above, when we say that something covers something else and is in contact with
it, and also when we are talking about horizontal movement:
A grey mist hung over the fields
...

Below is the opposite of above; under is the opposite of over
...

Her head was below the level of the counter and the shop assistant didn't notice her
...

She hid the presents under a blanket, (the presents and the blanket are in contact)

Uses of Between and among
Study how between and among are used as prepositions of place in these sentences:
She held the diamond between her thumb and forefinger
...

He stood among all his friends in the room and felt very happy
...

We use between with two or more people or things that we see as individual or separate
...
You can't say that you are
among two people or things
...
To talk about something done to
or by a group or groups of things or people, we can use either between or among:
The money is to be divided between/among the towns in the area
...

However, when we specify the individual members of the group using singular nouns, we use
between rather than among:
The treaty was signed between Great Britain and France
...

We also use between, not among, when we talk about comparisons and relationships (e
...

difference between, a connection between
...
, a link between
...

We use among, not between, when we mean 'occurring in', 'one/some of or 'out of:
The disease has now broken out among the hill tribes
...
(= 'some of)
Among the capital cities of South America, Quito is the second highest
Beside, By, close to, near (to), next (to)
These all mean 'not far away'
...

• We live close to / near (to) the city centre
...

I pushed the button beside / by / next to the door, but there was no answer
...
When
we mean that one thing is closer than any other thing of the same kind, we use nearest, not next
...
nearest room
...
next
...

They live in a pretty cottage near Bergerac in France
Uses of about and on
We can use about and on to mean 'concerning' or 'on the subject of
...

• Misunderstanding about the cause of malaria is common
...

• They insisted on seeing my passport, even though I was nowhere near the border
...
These include the verbs advise,
agree, decide, disagree, lecture, speak, speculate, talk, write, and the nouns advice,agreement,
book/article/paper, consultation, decision, idea, information, lecture, opinion, question:
The press is starting to speculate about/on whether the minister can survive this time
...

When we refer to formal or academic speech or writing, after the verbs and nouns in we can use
either about or on
...

Compare:
She spoke on the recent advances in teaching reading, (this suggests a formal speech such as a
lecture; or
...
) and
Jim and Anita seemed surprised when I spoke about buying their car
...
spoke on
...
a book about
...
a book on
...
We use by (followed by a noun or
-ing) when we talk about what action we take to do something; we use with (followed by a noun)
when we talk about what we use to do something:
He only avoided the children by braking hard and swerving to the right
...

I didn't have a bottle opener, so I had to open it with a screwdriver
...


We use by in certain common phrases:
I turned the computer off by mistake and lost all my work
...
; by air/road/rail/land/sea; by
cheque / credit card; by degrees/stages; by heart; by force; by hand; by post/fax/
e-mail {or E-mail)
...
g
...
For example:
I ordered it on the phone
...

She turned up in her new car
...

The price of the holiday includes all meals except (for) lunch
...

However, we use except for rather than except to show that a general statement made in the main
part of the sentence is not completely true:
The car was undamaged in the accident, except for a broken headlight
...

Except for the weather, the holiday couldn't have been better
...

I rarely need to go into the city centre except to do some shopping
...

They look just like the real thing, except (that) they are made of plastic
...
Besides her novels and poems, she published a number of short stories
...

We can use apart from instead of except (for) and besides:
I don't enjoy watching any sports apart from cricket
...
(= besides; as well as)
We can use but with a similar meaning to except (for), particularly after negative words such as
no, nobody, and nothing:
Immediately after the operation he could see nothing but / except (for) / apart from vague shadows
...

But for has a different meaning from except for
...

Exercises
Fill in the blanks with appropriate Prepositions:
1
...
He lives --at- 48 Tilak Street
...
He started -at-- six -in-- the morning
...
He hanged himself --- a piece of cloth
...
The portrait was painted -by-- a famous artist who flourished –in- the Sixteenth century
...
I must start -at-- dawn to reach the station in time
...
I hope to reach the station -in-- an hour at the outside
...
The child has been missing -since-- yesterday
...
The caravan must reach its destination --at- sunset
...
The mail train is due -at-- 3 P
...

10
...

11
...

12
...

13
...
M
...

14
...

15
...

16
...
four days
...
-Besides-- rice they had curry
...
The fever has taken a turn for the better -since-- yesterday
...
He has spent his life in--- London
...
I saw him felling a big tree -with- a hatcher
...
Come and sit -beside-- me
...
Nobody -but-- you know the truth
...
While I was -in-- Delhi he was --in- Mumbai
...
He was killed -by-- the robber with--- a hatchet
...
We shall stay three months --in- America
...
I met her …on…the bus
...
She lives …on… an estate
...
Adjectives add information to nouns and
pronouns
...

E
...

good, tall, fat, wide, simple, gaunt
...

E
...


illegal, insensitive, rusty, childish,
merciless, enjoyable
...

E
...

baggy, hairy, hairless, burdensome,
quarrelsome,
Sometimes, adjectives may be formed by adding
suffixes to verbs
...
g
...

When a negative prefix such as un, il, dis, in, im or
ir is added to an adjective, it creates an opposite or
negative meaning
...
g
...
g
...

Predicative Adjectives: As a complement, after a linking verb:
E
...

The shop is open
...

After a After a noun or an indefinite pronoun:
E
...

I wrote to the person concerned
...
It is common to find two or more
adjectives before a noun
...
g
...

E
...

Those horrible yellow chairs; a foolish young boy
...

Use commas to separate adjectives from the same
category, e
...
opinion
...

You do not have to use commas if the adjectives are from different categories, e
...
opinion and
nationality
...

Distributive Numeral Adjectives
They refer to each one of a number
...

Eamples:
Each boy must take his turn
...


Every word of it is false
...

On either side is a narrow lane
...

Gradable and Ungradable Adjectives
Gradable adjectives can be used with adverbs such as very or extremely to say that a thing or
person has more or less of a particular quality
...
Instead, we can use adverbs such as
absolutely or totally
...

She was extremely rich
...

Little = not much (i
...
, hardly any)
...


There is little hope of his recovery, i
...
, he is not likely to recover
...

He has little influence with his old followers
...

He has little appreciation of good poetry
...
'A little' has a positive meaningThere is a little hope of his recovery, i
...
, he may possibly recover
...

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing
...

The little information he had was not quite reliable
...

Few = not many, hardly any, 'Few' has a negative meaning
...

Few people are so hopeless as drunkards
...

Few works of reference are so valuable as the Encyclopaedia Britannica
...


...
'A few' has a positive meaning, and is opposed to 'none'
...

A few Parsees write Gujarati correctly
...

The few remarks that he made were very suggestive
...

The few clothes they had were all tattered and torn
COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES
Adjectives are useful when you want to compare things
...

The positive merely describes a noun, e
...
a tall child
...

E
...

She is taller than her mother
...

E
...

• She is the tallest in her class
...

Many adjectives containing two syllables and all adjectives containing three or more syllables
have the word more or most before the adjective to convey the comparative and superlative
respectively
...
g
...

Comparative
Positive

Comparative

Comparative

fast

faster

fastest

small

smaller

smallest

careful

more careful

most careful

generous

more generous

most generous

Here are some examples where the comparative and
superlative do not have the -er or -est suffix

Positive

Comparative

Superlative

bad

worse

worst

good

better

best

many

more

most

little

less

least

much

more

most

(a) few
(used with
plural
countable
nouns)
(a) little
(used with
uncountable
nouns)
positive
• I've got a few close friends that I
meet regularly
...

• I have to go now, I have a little
work to do
...

negative
• He has few close friends and often
feels lonely
...

• There was little work to do, so I
didn't earn much money
...

iWe often use a few and a little in a 'positive' way; for example, to talk about a small amount
ADVERBS
An adverb is a word that modifies verbs, adjectives, adverbs and prepositions
...
Adverbs tell you, among
other things, how (manner), when (time) or where (place)
an action took place
...
g
...
(manner)
• She came early for the interview
...
(place)
Some adverbs also moderate or intensify adjectives
or adverbs
...
g
...

• I wouldn’t recommend it
...


• I went to the market rather early on Saturday
...

At the beginning of a sentence
(usually to emphasise a point)
...

In the middle of a sentence
...

At the end of a sentence, after a verb
...

Adverbs may be categorised into the following classes:
Manner: gracefully, sadly, slowly, well
Time: before, now, since, eventually
Place: here, there, everywhere, nowhere
Degree: almost, quite, very, rather
Number: once, twice
Frequency: often, sometimes, usually
Interrogative: where, when, how
The Position of Adverbs in Sentence
Adverbs of manner tell you the way an action
is performed
...

E
...

The students cheered enthusiastically when
they were told that they were getting a holiday
...

E
...

• He deliberately tripped the rude boy
...

Although many adverbs of manner end in -ly, not all do
...
g
...

Adverbs of Manner
Adverbs of time answer the questions when? how long?
and how often?
E
...

• Lunch will be ready soon
...

• Harold rarely visits his grandparents
...

E
...

Frankly, the job is not worth
doing for the money alone
...

E
...

The school looked very different then
...

E
...

• The neighbours now realise what had happened
Adverbial clause of time: as, when and while
We can use as, when or while to mean 'during the time that
...

The word whilst can also be used in this way, but is today considered rather literary
...

Dave was eating when the doorbell rang, (compare A)

to talk about one event happening immediately after another:
When the lights went out, I lit some candles
...

to talk about periods of our lives or periods of time past:
His mother called him Robbie when he was a baby
...

When I turn on the TV, smoke comes out the back
...

As/When the can is opened, the contents heat automatically
...

However, we prefer as to express this meaning:
As the cheese matures, its flavour improves, (rather than When the cheese matures
...
when she grew older
...

We use while (or when) rather than as if 'as' could also mean '
Adverbs of Degree
Adverbs of degree answer the question how much? or to
what extent? They increase or reduce the force of the word
they describe
...

E
...

The students put up a totally
entertaining performance
...

E
...

The young man walked incredibly slowly
...

E
...
The audience absolutely hated the show
...
They generally form the
comparative or superlative by adding more and most to the positive adverb
Positive

Comparative

Superlative

early

earlier

earliest

long

longer

longest

bravely

more bravely

most bravely

greedily

more greedily

most greedily

carefully

more carefully

most carefully

Comment adverbs
We use this kind of adverb to make a comment on what we are saying
...


theory, obviously, presumably, probably,
undoubtedly

indicate our attitude to or

astonishingly, frankly, generally, honestly, to

opinion of what is said
...

He led me to a room that had obviously been built later than the rest of the house
...

There are other possible positions for each of the comment adverbs in this example
...

To my surprise, the newspaper wasn't interested in the story
...

Financially, things are a bit difficult at the moment
...

As far as insurance is concerned, we can fix that up for you
Adverbs of frequency
1 An adverb of frequency usually goes in mid position
...
I can never open these packets
...
I often get up in the night
...

The adverb can sometimes go after the subject and before a negative auxiliary
...

I don't often have breakfast
...
)
I often don't have breakfast
...
)
Sometimes goes before a negative auxiliary
...


b Seldom and rarely are a little formal
...

I don't often play cards
...

I've never felt so embarrassed in my life
...

Have you ever done any ballroom dancing? ~ No, never
...

I haven't ever felt so embarrassed
...

Normally, generally, usually, frequently, sometimes and occasionally also go in
front or end position
...
My sister comes to see me sometimes
...
g
...

Doctors get called out at night quite often
...

We go out a lot at weekends
Title: Parts of Speech in English
Description: The notes contains comprehensive information on the English parts of speech.