A sentence is a set of words that is complete in itself means when a set of words convey something (Statement, question, command, idea) clearly, it is called a sentence. The basic part of any sentence is a Subject and a Predicate.
Let's understand what is a subject and predicate in a sentence.
The subject of a sentence is the person or thing doing the action or being described. The subject is either a noun (Ram, Delhi, Army) or a pronoun (He, they, we etc ). Every verb, whether action verb (Run, eat) or helping verb (is, am, are, was, were etc.) has a subject. Also, a sentence can have more than one subject.
Coming to the predicate, A predicate in a sentence tells us what the subject does or is. We can say that everything in a sentence is considered as a predicate, that is not the subject Basically the predicate means a verb. In addition to the verb, a predicate may contain direct objects, indirect objects, and also various kinds of phrases. See the below example:
Example: 1) Rita Laughed.
Here Rita is the subject and Laughed is the predicate.
2) Rita, as well as her parents, has gone for the party.
In this sentence, Rita and Her parents are acting as SUBJECTS here. 'Has gone for the party' is the predicate in the given sentence.
Important note: Usually 'Subject' comes before the predicate', as you can see in the above examples. But at times, 'Predicate' comes before the 'Subject' in some kind of sentences. In the below examples, predicate (verb) is coming before the Subject:
1)Here comes Rita: Rita(subject) is coming after the verb/Predicate(comes)
2) Now comes the sound of the Movie: Here also subject is coming after predicate.
3)There appears to be a large number of people who are supporting Manish.
Can you find out the error in this example 3 given here?
The Error is in ''Appears''. Appear is the correct verb to use here. Because verb 'appear' here is referring to 'Large number of people' . It is not referring to Manish according to the sentence structure. So for' Large number of people' , Plural form of verb will be used.
Parts of Speech
In any language, parts of speech are the most important. In English Grammar, these are called as the basic building blocks. Without the sound knowledge and understanding of the parts of speech you cannot proceed in reading English Properly or expressing yourself correctly. No correct sentence can be formed without the proper knowledge of parts of speech. English words are categorized into several types or parts of speech based on the use and functions. There are eight parts of speech in English Language which are as follows:
1. Noun
2. Pronoun
3. Verb
4. Adjective
5. Adverb
6. Prepositions
7. Conjunctions
8. Interjections
Why Parts of Speech are important :
Until and unless you are well acquaint with the Noun , Pronoun , Verb , Prepositions etc , you cannot command in English Language.
Reading comprehension , Sentence connector , sentence correction Everything may improve if you will be able to quickly distinguish subject from direct object and objects of preposition etc
. Parts of Speech refers to all words in the English language and how they can be grouped into eight different categories, depending upon their function.
Without parts of speech, there would be no existence of sentences and language.Scoring good in English Language is all about good reading habits. Being able to place words into their parts of speech is essential to become a better reader.
Let's go through the important examples of the Parts of speech :
1. Noun:
1)Incorrect: He told these news to me.
Correct: He told me this news.
2)Incorrect: He is working for the blinds.
Correct: He is working for the blind.
3)Incorrect: The teacher gave us many advices.
Correct: The teacher gave us some advice.
4)Incorrect: What for they left the city?
Correct: What did they leave the city for?
5)Incorrect: Agreeable to his request, they have forwarded the goods.
Correct: Agreeable with his request, they have forwarded the good
2. Pronoun:
1)Incorrect: The job you have chosen does not seem to be good.
Correct: The job you have chosen does not seem to be good one.
2)Incorrect: Each boy and each girl were given a book.
Correct: Each boy and each girl was given a book.
3)Incorrect: He is taller than me. Correct:
correct:He is taller than I
. 4)Incorrect: His teaching was like Buddha.
Correct: His teaching was like that of Buddha.
5) Incorrect: None but I turned up.
Correct: None but me turned up.
3. Verb
1)Incorrect: She asked him what was he doing.
Correct: She asked him what he was doing.
2)Incorrect: When we went there, we found that the lion was disappeared.
Correct: When we went there, we found that the lion had disappeared.
3)Incorrect: We discussed about his plans.
Correct: We discussed his plans.
4)Incorrect: He asked that what was my name.
Correct: He asked what my name was.
5) Incorrect: The joker did nothing but laughing.
Correct: The joker did nothing but laugh.
4. Adjective:
1)Incorrect: Bombay is further from Delhi than Agra. Correct: Bombay is farther from Delhi than Agra.
2)Incorrect: I have many work to do.
Correct: I have much work to do
. 3)Incorrect: Tell me the last news.
Correct: Tell me the latest news.
5. Adverb
1)Incorrect: She is so poor to pay the dues.
Correct: She is too poor to pay the dues.
2) Incorrect: The room is enough spacious for us.
Correct: The room is spacious enough for us.
3)Incorrect: I managed to do it anyhow.
Correct: I managed to do it somehow.
6.Prepositions
1)Incorrect: We reached at the airport at 9 pm.
Correct: We reached the airport at 9 pm.
2)Incorrect: What is the time in your watch?
Correct: What is the time by your watch?
3)Incorrect: The snake was killed by a stone.
Correct: The snake was killed with a stone.
7.Conjunctions
1)Incorrect: Do it carefully lest you may not make a mistake.
Correct: Do it carefully lest you make a mistake.
2)Incorrect: He climbed up a tree such as to get a good view of the procession.
Correct: He climbed up a tree so as to get a good view of the procession.
3)Incorrect: Unless you do not try, you will never succeed.
Correct: Unless you try, you will never succeed.
8. Interjections
Usually, no errors are associated with Interjections because they are isolated expressions and are preceded by a sentence. Interjections use an exclamatory sign after them. The followings are examples of interjections:
1. Bravo! You have done well.
2. Hurrah! We won the match.
We will cover all of these Parts of Speech individually in detail in the next part Series.
Phrases and Clauses
Phases and clause hold a major significance in English Grammar. Most of the times in examination the errors are in the phrase and clause of the sentence.
First, let's understand
Phrases: A phrase is a group of words which stand together as a single unit. The phrase may have a noun, but it does not have a subject doing a verb(action). Because a phrase does not contain a subject doing a verb, so it can't convey a complete message. Look at the below examples:
1. A ten-foot long flag
2. Moving behind a car
3. The lost puppy
As you can see, the above statements are not conveying any complete thought or idea. Hence, they all are phrases.
There are many types of phrases which are:
1. Noun Phrases: A noun phrase contains a noun and the words which modify that noun, for example A sick little boy
2. Verb Phrase: A verb phrase is one which contains a verb and its modifiers. for example, He was eager to know the story
3. Infinitive Phrase: An infinitive phrase is a noun phrase that begins with an infinitive. for example, I went to Kerela to explore new places.
4. Prepositional Phrases: A phrase which begins with a preposition and can act as a noun, an adjective or an adverb, is known as a Prepositional Phrase. For example, It rained for a while
As you can see examples above (bold part) are not conveying any complete thought. Now let's see some of the common errors of Phrases:
1. I asked them to be quiet, but they carried on talking. (Incorrect)
I asked them to be quiet, but they carried on to talk. (Correct)
2. We collected the books and put away them. (Incorrect)
We collected the books and put them away. (Correct)
Clause:
A clause is a group of words that includes a subject and a verb. It means a clause has a verb which is actively doing a verb(action). A clause can be distinguished from a phrase, which does not contain a subject and a verb.
Clauses are of two types: Independent Clause and Dependent clause
An independent clause is one which expresses a complete thought and can be a standalone sentence.
While a dependent clause is usually a supporting part of a sentence, and it cannot stand by itself as a meaningful sentence/idea.
Examples: 1. Rita went to market after she watched the movie.
In this sentence, 'Rita went to market' is a complete sentence in itself hence it is a independent clause. While 'After she watched the movie' is a dependent clause as it cannot be a complete sentence or idea, which means it is dependent on the first sentence.
2. I went to the Market: Independent Clause
3. Because I went to the market: Dependent Clause
To connect an independent to a dependent clause or two dependent clauses, use Comma. If we use a full stop instead of a comma in the following sentence, it's a grammatical error.
4. The mountains are nice, but the beaches are better.