Basics Of English Grammar

Basics of English Grammar
If you just started learning English, you first need to know some basic rules of the language. Developing a solid foundation in English grammar will not only help you create your own sentences correctly but will also make it easier to improve your communication skills in both spoken and written English.

Study all the lessons below and incorporate your learning intoyour speaking and writing.

Singular and Plural Nouns
A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea.

Usually, the first page of a grammar book tells you about nouns. Nouns give names of concrete or abstract things in our lives. As babies learn "mom," "dad," or "milk" as their first word, nouns should be the first topic when you study a foreign language.

For the plural form of most nouns,add s.
* bottle – bottles
* cup – cups
* pencil – pencils
* desk – desks
* sticker – stickers
* window – windows
For nouns that end in ch, x, s, or s sounds, add es.
* box – boxes
* watch – watches
* moss – mosses
* bus – buses
For nouns ending in f or fe, change f to v and add es.
* wolf – wolves
* wife – wives
* leaf – leaves
* life –lives
Some nouns have different plural forms.
* child – children
* woman – women
* man – men
* mouse – mice
* goose – geese
Nouns ending in vowels like y or o do not have definite rules.
* baby – babies
* toy – toys
* kidney – kidneys
* potato – potatoes
* memo – memos
* stereo – stereos
A few nouns have the same singular and plural forms.
* sheep –sheep
* deer – deer
* series – series
* species – species

[Quiz 1.1]

Choose the correct form of the noun in each sentence.

1) I have three (child, children).
2) There are five (man, men) and one (woman, women).
3) (Baby, Babies) play with bottles as toys.
4) I put two big (potato, potatoes) in the lunch box.
5) A few men wear (watch, watches).
6) I put a (memo, memos) onthe desk.
7) I saw a (mouse, mice) running by.
8) There are few (bus, buses) on the road today.

View Answers
[1.1]
1) children
2) men, woman
3) Babies
4) potatoes
5) watches
6) memo
7) mouse
8) buses

Count Nouns vs. Non-Count Nouns
Count nouns
Can be counted as one or more.
* pen, computer, bottle, spoon, desk, cup, television, chair, shoe, finger, flower, camera, stick,balloon, book, table, comb, etc.
Take an s to form the plural.
* pens, computers, bottles, spoons, desks, cups, televisions, chairs, shoes, fingers, flowers, cameras, sticks, balloons, books, tables, combs, etc.
Work with expressions such as (a few, few, many, some, every, each, these, and the number of).
* a few pens, a few computers, many bottles, some spoons, every desk, each cup, thesetelevisions, the number of chairs, a few shoes, a few fingers, many flowers, some cameras, every stick, each balloon, these books, the number of tables, many combs, etc.
Work with appropriate articles (a, an, or the).
* a pen, the computer, a bottle, the spoon, a desk, the cup, a television, the chair, a shoe, the finger, a flower, the camera, a stick, the balloon, a book, the table, a comb,etc.
Do NOT work with much (for example, you would never say much pens or much computers).
Non-count nouns
Cannot be counted. They usually express a group or a type.
* water, wood, ice, air, oxygen, English, Spanish, traffic, furniture, milk, wine, sugar, rice, meat, flour, soccer, sunshine, etc.
Generally cannot be pluralized.

Work both with and without an article (a, an, or the),depending on the context of the sentence.
* Sugar is sweet.
* The sunshine is beautiful.
* I drink milk.
* He eats rice.
* We watch soccer together.
* The wood is burning.
Work with expressions such as (some, any, enough, this, that, and much).
* We ate some rice and milk.
* I hope to see some sunshine today.
* This meat is good.
* She does not speak much...