English Grammar 101: All You Need to KnowBy Daniel ScoccoJust ask a friend what is the role of prepositions within sentences, orwhat are the four moods of verbs, and I am sure that you will see a puzzled look on his face.Understandin the basic rammar rules is essential for communicatin efficiently, but most of us have forotten those concepts years ao.In order to solve this problem we decided to put toether all the basic rules on a sinle pae, so that you can use it as a refresher, or print it out for future reference. !n"oy#SentencesSentences are made of two parts$ the subject and the predicate.%he sub"ect is the person or thin that acts or is described in the sentence. %he predicate, on the other hand, is that action or description.&omplete sentences need both the sub"ect and the predicate.ClausesSentences can be broken down into clauses.'or e(ample$ The boy is going to the school, and he is going to eat there.%his is a complete sentence composed of two clauses. %here are mainly two types of clauses$ independent clauses and subordinate clauses.ndependent clauses act as complete sentences, while subordinate clauses cannot stand alone and need another clause to complete their meanin. 'or e(ample$Independent clause e(ample$ The boy went to the school.Subordinate clause e(ample$ After the boy went to the school!hrases) roup of two or more rammatically linked words that do not have sub"ect and predicate is a phrase.!(ample of a complete sentence$ The girl is at home, and tomorrow she is going to the amusement park.!(ample of a clause$ The girl is at home!(ample of a phrase$ The girl*ou can see that +the irl, is a phrase located in the first clause of the complete sentence above.-hrases act like parts of speech inside clauses. %hat is, they can act as nouns, ad"ectives, adverbs and so on.!arts o" Speech) word is a +part of speech, only when it is used in a sentence. %he function the word serves in a sentence is what makes it whatever part of speech it is.'or e(ample, the word +run, can be used as more than one part of speech$.Sammy hit a home run.Run is a noun, direct ob"ect of hit.You mustnt run near the swimming pool.Run is a verb, part of the verb phrase must not! run.%raditional rammar classifies words based on eiht parts of speech$ the noun, the pronoun, theadjecti#e, the #erb, the ad#erb, the preposition, the conjunction, and the interjection. .e areoin to cover them individually below.Nouns) noun is a word used to describe a person, place, thin, event, idea, and so on. /ouns represent one of the main elements of sentences, alon with verbs, ad"ectives, prepositions and articles./ouns usually function as subjects or objects within sentences, althouh they can also act as ad"ectives and adverbs.0ere is a list with the different types of nouns$1. !roper nounsUsed to describe a uni2ue person or thin, proper nouns always start with a capital letter. !(amples include "ary, #ndia, and "anchester $nited.3. Common nouns&ommon nouns are used to describe persons or thins in eneral. !(amples include girl, country, andteam4. Concrete nouns/ouns that can be perceived throuh the five senses are called concrete nouns. !(amples include ball,rainbow and melody.5. Abstract nouns/ouns that cannot be perceived throuh the five senses are called abstract nouns. !(amples include lo%e,courage, and childhood.6. Countable nouns&ountable nouns can be counted. %hey also have both a sinular and a plural form. !(amples include toys,children and books.7. Non$countable nouns%hese nouns 8usually9 can not be counted, and they don:t have a plural form. !(amples include sympathy,laughter and o&ygen.;. Collecti#e nouns&ollective nouns are used to describe roups of thins. !(amples include flock, committee and murder.!lural %orm o" Nouns%he !nlish lanuae has both regular and irregular plural forms of nouns. %he most common caseis when you need to add also called linkin or copulative verbsto be, seem, become, taste, smell, sound, feel/ip$ Some of these verbs can also be used transitively. If in doubt, substitute a form of to be for the verb. If the sentence still makes sense, the verb is bein used as a copulative verb$.e feels depressed. .e is depressed..e feels the wall. .e is the wall.ii* au'iliar) #erbs > also called helpin verbsbe, ha%e, shall, will, do, and may..e could ha%e gone earlier.iii* semi$au'iliar) #erbsmust, can, ought, dare, need.You must not go. You dare not go.0erbs 0oice!nlish verbs are said to have two voices$ active and passive.Acti#e 0oice$ the sub"ect of the sentence performs the action$.is son catches fly balls. -reati%e children often dream in class.Note$ @erbs in the active voice may be either transitive or intransitive.!assi#e 0oice$ the sub"ect receives the action$The ball was caught by the first baseman.The duty is performed by the new recruits.The dough was beaten by the mi&er.The mailman was bitten by the dog.=nly transitive verbs can be used in the passive voice. .hat would be the direct ob"ect of the verb inthe active voice becomes the sub"ect of the verb in the passive voice$)ctive voice$ The dog bit the mailman. +bit, is a transitive verb. %he receiverCdirect ob"ect is +mailman.,-assive voice$ The mailman was bitten by the dog. +bit, is now in the passive voice. %he +receiver, has become the sub"ect of the verb.) passive verb in either present or past tense will always have two parts$ some form of the verb to be 8am, is, are, was, were9, and a past participle 8verb form endin in