Basic Grammar Concepts: Parts of Speech

To start expanding your grammar knowledge, it’s helpful to begin with an

understanding of the eight traditional parts of speech that make up our
sentences: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions,
interjections, and conjunctions. Each of these parts of speech has a distinct
role to play in how we communicate, and a grasp of their basic definition and
function will serve you well in any future grammar lessons.
Nouns: The people, places, things, or ideas we refer to in our writing and
speech. Nouns can refer to concrete, unique things as well as abstract
concepts.
Examples: accountant, New York, boredom, Tom Hanks
While there a number of ways to classify all the kinds of the people, places,
and things that we refer to in language, nouns can broadly be broken down
into categories:

 Common nouns: any general term for a class of people, places,

things, or ideas. Common nouns are never capitalized.
o Examples: woman, car, city, mountain, book

 Proper nouns: unique or specific people, places, things, or ideas that

are always capitalized.
o Examples: Alice, Ford Edsel, Beijing, Denali, Moby Dick

Pronouns: Words that take the place of any nouns in a sentence.

Examples: I, me, my, she, he, they, we, who, yours, them
Verbs: Words that express actions or states of being. Verbs typically indicate
what the subject (or main noun) in a sentence is doing or feeling.
Examples: I wrote a sentence. I called my mother. I will walk my dog. I
am happy.
Adjectives: Adjectives provide description in our sentences. Crucially,
though, they specifically identify, modify, or describe a noun.
Examples: I wrote a beautiful sentence. I called my wonderful mother. I will
walk my restless dog. I am happy.
Adverbs: Adverbs also add description to our sentences. However, what
distinguishes them from adjectives is that they describe verbs—instead of
characterizing a person, place, or thing, adverbs provide information about
when, where, why, and how something is done.
Examples: I carefully wrote a sentence. I finally called my
mother. Importantly, I walked my dog. I am very happy.
Prepositions: These words link information about the time, location, or
logical relationship of one noun to another word in a given sentence.
Importantly, they tell us things like when or where one thing is among other
things.
Examples: I wrote a sentence in a Word document. I called my mother on her
birthday. I walked my dog around the park.
Interjections: Often followed by exclamation points, these are words or
expressions that convey emotions.
Examples: Oops! There’s an error in that sentence. Oh, gosh! I forgot to call
my mother.
Conjunctions: These words (like and, but, and or) connect words, concepts,
parts of sentences, and even whole sentences.
Examples: I wanted to call my mother. However, I ran out of time today. I
will make it up to her and call sometime tomorrow.
Identifying Parts of Speech
Once you’ve got these basic grammar concepts down, you’ll be on your way
to becoming an expert. Of course, you’ll need to not just be able to know
what distinguishes these parts of speech but also identify them in a given
sentence. To help, here a few tips to identifying certain parts of speech based
on their suffixes—that is, based on the letters that come at the end of the
word:
Nouns: -ance (insurance); -dom (freedom); -ence (persistence); -er (trainer);
-or (editor); -ism (modernism); -ist (scientist); -ity (responsibility); -ness
(happiness); -ship (championship)
Verbs: -ate (indicate); -ify (specify); -ize (specialize). While you’ll have to
look more closely at these words to know their part of speech, verbs can also
end in -s (she walks), -ed (she walked), and -n or -en (she has fallen; her
offer was withdrawn).
Adjectives: -able (comfortable); -al (temporal); -ible (terrible); -esque
(picturesque); -ful (beautiful); -ic (drastic); -ish (selfish); -ive (apprehensive); -
ous (gorgeous); -less (careless); -y (creamy).
Adverbs: -ly (carefully). While many adverbs end in -ly, there are exceptions
to watch out for: Anytime you add -ly to an adjective it creates an adverb.
However, adding –ly to a noun produces an adjective (brotherly, cowardly).
Beginning Grammar: Sentence Components
and Verb Tenses
Sentence Components
In English grammar, sentences are composed of two principal parts:
the subject and the predicate. In simple terms, the subject is who or what
the sentence is about. Meanwhile, the predicate contains information about
the subject.
Example Sentence: The city of Chicago is a beautiful place to visit.

 Subject: The city of Chicago

 Predicate: is a beautiful place to visit.

Almost all sentences will include both of these parts, although there are some
exceptions. For instance, an in imperative sentence (one that communicates
a command or demand) typically omits the subject of the sentence (usually
you) because it is understood or implied, as in: Pass the butter, please. or
Give me a break! or Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.
Verb Tenses
One other helpful tool to kick start your grammar learning journey is a basic
understanding of verb tenses. In short, verb tense refers to when the action a
verb describes occurs. While each of these breaks down into further, more
specific classifications, that’s a more advanced lesson for another day. For
now, you can get through Grammar 101 with a simple understanding of the
three main verb tenses:
Past: Past tense verbs describe something that has already happened
Example: I ran a marathon.
Present: The present tense describes things that are happening currently or
continuously.
Example: I am running a marathon. I run marathons.
Future: Future tense verbs describe an action that has not happened yet or
will happen.
Example: I will run a marathon next year.

Table of Contents
 What Do You Mean by Sentence Structure?
 Basic Parts and Components of a Sentence

 Parts of a Sentence

 Subject

 Predicate

 Components of a Sentence

 Subject

 Verb

 Object

 Complement

 Adjunct

 The Different Types of Sentence Structures in English Grammar

 Examples of Sentence Structure

 SV

 SVO

 SVC
  SVA

 SVOC

 SVOA

 SVIODO

 ASVC

 ASVO

 ASVIODO

 SVAA

 ASVAA

 Check Your Understanding of Sentence Structure

 Frequently Asked Questions on Sentence Structure in English

What Do You Mean by Sentence Structure?

Sentence structure is a grammatical component that tells you exactly
where and how each component of a sentence should be placed in order
to blend and make sense. The Collins Dictionary defines sentence
structure as “the grammatical arrangement of words in sentences.” In
other words, the sentence structure is what defines the way a sentence
will look and sound.

Basic Parts and Components of a Sentence

Before we look into how sentence structure works, we will have to first
learn about the basic structure of a sentence and the components that
make up a sentence.

Parts of a Sentence
A sentence, in the English language, consists of at least a subject and
a predicate. In other words, a sentence should have a subject and a verb.

Subject
The subject can be a noun or a pronoun that does the action.

For example:
  The sun is shining.
 The sky is clear.
 Today is Wednesday.

Predicate
The verb is the action performed by the particular subject in the sentence.

For example:

 I love macaroni and cheese.

 Merin has a pet.
 Anusha can draw.

Components of a Sentence
Like a sentence has two parts, it has five main components that make up
the structure of a sentence, and they are,

 Subject
 Verb
 Object
 Complement
 Adjunct

Now, let us look at each of these components in detail.

Subject
A noun that performs the action in a sentence is considered as the
subject. It answers the question ‘who’ or in other words, a subject can be
identified by asking the question ‘who’. A subject takes the first place in
most cases, especially in declarative or assertive sentences.

For example:

 The child kept crying.

 Our school team won the match.
 My son is in the eighth grade.
 Hard work pays.
 No one came to the wedding.

Verb
In every sentence the most important word can be said to be the verb. A
verb shows action or activity or work done by the subject. Remember that
all verbs including main verbs, helping verbs, stative verbs and action
verbs come under this category. Most often, verbs appear immediately
after the subject.

For example:

 Neena is writing a letter.

 It was too dark.
 I feel tired.
 My phone is not working.
 Tarun’s dog ran away.

Object
An object is a noun or pronoun that receives the action done by the
subject. Objects are of two types and they are,

 Direct Object
 Indirect Object

Direct Object

A noun or pronoun that receives the action directly is the direct object in
the sentence. It answers the question ‘what’. Direct objects mostly appear
immediately after the verb and are the primary objects in the sentence.

For example:

 Harry bought a new car.

 My mom made a cake.
 I met my friend.
 She knows all the songs.
 We watched a movie.

Indirect Object

An indirect object is a noun or pronoun that is a secondary object. It can

be identified by asking the question ‘whom’. When there is an indirect
object in a sentence, it is mostly placed after the verb and before the
direct object.

For example:

 Vandhana gave Keerthana a cake.

 My mom bought me a new dress.
 I gave him a chocolate.
 They gave us coffee with breakfast.
  He lent his friend a pen.

Complement

The words required to complete the meaning of a sentence can be

referred to as the complement of the sentence. A complement can be
an adjective, a name, a position or a profession.

For example:

 It grew dark.
 He is a dentist.
 That’s her dog, Bruno.

Complements are further divided into two types based on which

component it speaks about. The two types of complement are,

 Subject Complement
 Object Complement

Subject Complement

The complement which expresses the quality or identity or condition of

the subject is called Subject Complement.

For example:

 She is a doctor.
 I am Sindhu.
 Nandhu is clever.
 The students are very excited.
 My brother is a teacher.

Object Complement

The complement which expresses the quality or identity or condition of an

object is called Object Complement.

For example:

 They made her angry.

 The students elected Sreya the class leader.
 They named their daughter, Thara.
 Marley met her friend, Ryan.
 Nobody found the movie interesting.

Adjunct
An adjunct is a word or a phrase that gives more information about an
action, an event, a quality and so on. In short, it can be said that these
words can include adverbs and adverb clauses. Adjuncts can be identified
by asking questions ‘when’, ‘where’, ‘why’, ‘how’, ‘how often’ and ‘to what
extent’. When using adjuncts, keep in mind that adjuncts can be used in
the beginning, middle or end of the sentence and that there can be more
than one adjunct in a sentence.

Take a look at the following examples to understand how adjuncts can be

used.

 Yesterday, we met at the park.

 He is very tired.
 Due to his ill-health, he could not come home for Christmas.
 My father reads the newspaper everyday.
 This workout routine is extremely exhausting.

The Different Types of Sentence Structures

in English Grammar
In English grammar, there are a number of sentence structures that you
can use to make your speech or writing sound or look a lot more
organised, interesting and professional. Some of the commonly used
sentence structures are as follows.

 Subject + Verb (SV)

 Subject + Verb + Object (SVO)
 Subject + Verb + Complement (SVC)
 Subject + Verb + Adjunct (SVA)
 Subject + Verb + Object + Complement (SVOC)
 Subject + Verb + Object + Adjunct (SVOA)
 Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object (SVIODO)
 Adjunct + Subject + Verb + Complement (ASVC)
 Adjunct + Subject + Verb + Object (ASVO)
 Adjunct + Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object (ASVIODO)
 Subject + Verb + Adjunct + Adjunct (SVAA)
 Adjunct + Subject + Verb + Adjunct + Adjunct (ASVAA)

Examples of Sentence Structure

Looking at examples will help you understand how each sentence
structure works. So, here are a few examples for you.
SV
 The stars / are shining.

Subject / Verb

 The birds / are chirping.

Subject / Verb

 It / is raining.

Subject / Verb

SVO
 Children / love / ice creams.

Subject / Verb / Object

 Noah / does not like / bitter gourd.

Subject / Verb / Object

 I / have / a pencil.

Subject / Verb / Object

SVC
 I / am / an Indian.

Subject + Verb + Complement

 Carol / is / a nurse.

Subject + Verb + Complement

 My name / is / Gina.

Subject + Verb + Complement

SVA
 Madhu / reached / early.

Subject / Verb / Adjunct

 All of us / are leaving / for Tokyo.

Subject / Verb / Adjunct

 He / went / upstairs.

Subject / Verb / Adjunct

SVOC
 We / lost / out cat, / Quinny.

Subject / Verb / Object / Complement

 My friends / make / me / happy.

Subject / Verb / Object / Complement

 Everyone / found / the book / controversial.

Subject / Verb / Object / Complement

SVOA
 It / is / my birthday / next month.

Subject / Verb / Object / Adjunct

 Lakshmi / reached / school / after 9 a.m.

Subject / Verb / Object / Adjunct

 My brother / plays / football / everyday.

Subject / Verb / Object / Adjunct

SVIODO
 The Board / offered / me / the job.

Subject / Verb / Indirect Object / Direct Object

 Rohit / gave / Reshmi / his favourite book.

Subject / Verb / Indirect Object / Direct Object

 Neetu / bought / herself / a hat.

Subject / Verb / Indirect Object / Direct Object

ASVC
 Suddenly, / it / grew / dark.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Complement

 Normally, / the weather / is / good.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Complement

 Occassionally, / my dog / gets / restless.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Complement

ASVO
 Last week, / we / celebrated / Holi.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Object

 Usually, / we / get / a token.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Object

 Every year, / we / visit / the orphanage.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Object

ASVIODO
 Today, / the teacher / gave / us / our papers.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Indirect Object / Direct Object

 Yesterday, / my mom / bought / me / a bicycle.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Indirect Object / Direct Object

 Every time he comes home, / my brother / gets / my mom / her favourite

chocolates.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Indirect Object / Direct Object

SVAA
 They / go / to work / by bus.

Subject / Verb / Adjunct / Adjunct

 We / meet / every evening / on the way back home.

Subject / Verb / Adjunct / Adjunct

 Jancy / went / to the grocery store / last Saturday.

Subject / Verb / Adjunct / Adjunct

ASVAA
 Normally, / my parents / come / by bus / to Pondicherry.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Adjunct / Adjunct

 Last year, / my friends and I / went / to Meghalaya / for a month.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Adjunct / Adjunct

 Usually, / Finn’s parents / would come / to the airport / as soon as his flight
lands.
Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Adjunct / Adjunct

Check Your Understanding of Sentence

Structure
Now that you have gone through a number of examples, apply your
knowledge to identify the sentence structure of the following sentences.
Make sure you split the sentences according to the sentence structure.

1. My dog is acting weird lately.

2. It is getting too cold here.

3. The sky is blue.

4. Every year, the company updates its registry.

5. Brittany bought me a pair of shoes.

6. Nobody knows the answer.

7. The movie was great.

8. I will come home as soon as I finish work.

9. In September, she will be travelling to New York.

10. My brother’s phone is not working.

Check if you got it right from the answers given below.

1. My dog / is acting / weird / lately.

Subject / Verb / Complement / Adjunct (SVCA)

2. It / is getting / too /cold / here.

Subject / Verb / Adjunct / Complement / Adjunct (SVACA)

3. The sky / is / blue.

Subject / Verb / Complement (SVC)

4. Every year, / the company / updates / its registry.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Object (ASVO)

5. Brittany / bought / me / a pair of shoes.

Subject / Verb / Indirect Object / Direct Object (SVIODO)

6. Nobody / knows / the answer.

Subject / Verb / Object (SVO)

7. The movie / was / great.

Subject / Verb / Complement (SVC)

8. I / will come / home / as soon as I finish work.

Subject / Verb / Adjunct / Adjunct (SVAA)

9. In September, / she / will be travelling / to New York.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Adjunct (ASVA)

10. My brother’s phone / is not working.

Subject / Verb (SV)

Frequently Asked Questions on Sentence

Structure
Q1
What is sentence structure?
Sentence structure is a grammatical component that tells you exactly
where and how each component of a sentence should be placed in order
to blend and make sense. The Collins Dictionary defines sentence
structure as “the grammatical arrangement of words in sentences.”
Q2
What are the parts of a sentence?
A sentence has two parts namely, a subject and a predicate. For example:
In the sentence, I watched a movie, ‘I’ is the subject and ‘watched a
movie’ is the predicate.
Q3
What are the components of a sentence?
There are five main components that make up the structure of a
sentence, and they are,

 Subject
 Verb
 Object
 Complement
 Adjunct

Q4
Give some examples of sentence structure.
SVO – The students completed their assignments.
SVC – My mom is a teacher.
ASVO – Last week, we watched a movie.
ASVA – Normally, I don’t go to the hospital.
SVOAA – The boys were playing football on the turf all day.

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

Possessive Nouns
Possessive nouns are used to indicate ownership.

Possessive nouns usually are formed by adding an apostrophe (') and s.

 John's book
 Kerry's car
 Grandma's mirror

When a noun is plural and ends in s, just add an apostrophe (').

 The kids' toys

 My parents' house
 The teachers' lounge
If two people own one thing, add the apostrophe and s to the second person only.

 John and Mary's new house

 David and Sue's wedding
 Tom and Doug's car

If two people own separate things, add the apostrophe and s for each person.

 Susan's and Beth's books

 Jean's and Dan's pants
 Ben's and Jim's offices

Pronouns
A pronoun takes the place of a noun.

Example story:

Mary is one of the heads of the ToJi Corporation. Mary works with Mr. James and Mr.
James' son Tom. Mr. James and Mr. James' son Tom are experts in biochemistry. Mary, Mr.
James, and Tom researched and invented a drug for cancer treatment.

If the story above is written using pronouns:

Mary is one of the heads of the ToJi Corporation. She works with Mr. James and his son
Tom. He and his son Tom are experts in biochemistry. They researched and invented a drug
for cancer treatment.

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns refer to a person:

 I go to school.
 You are a student.
 They are Koreans.
 He works here.
 We gave her food.

The word ‘it' refers to an object:

 I drank it.
 It is big.
 They cut it into halves.

Memorize the personal pronouns:

Third
First Second
Male Female Neutral
Singular Subject I you he she it
 Singular Object me you him her it
Singular Reflexive myself yourself himself herself itself
Plural Subject we you they
Plural Object us you them
Plural Reflexive ourselves yourselves themselves

'Be' Verbs
A verb shows action or a state of being.

I go home. Home is my place to rest. I like the smell of my house. I feel totally relaxed.
Home refreshes me. At home, I get ready for a new day.

"Be" verbs indicate a state of being.

Verbs must match subjects.

 I am a doctor.
 He is sleepy.
 We are here.

Negative sentences need ‘not' after the verb.

 I am not a doctor.
 He is not sleepy.
 We are not there.

The verb comes first in interrogative sentences.

 Am I a doctor?
 Is he sleepy?
 Are we there?

"Are not" (is not) can be shortened to "aren't" (isn't).

 He isn't sleepy.
 We aren't there.

Remember the variations of "be" verbs:

Present Negative Interrogative

I am I am not Am I?
You are You are not (aren't) Are you?
He is He is not (isn't) Is he?
She is She is not (isn't) Is she?
It is It is not (isn't) Isn't it?
We are We are not (aren't) Are we?
You are You are not (aren't) Are you?
They are They are not (aren't) Are they?

Action Verbs
Action verbs express action and are the most common verbs.

Action verbs need s at the end with third-person, singular subjects.

 He eats bread.
 She walks to the station.
 It floats on the sea.

Negative sentences need do not, does not, or did not.

 I do not eat bread.

 He does not eat bread.
 You did not walk to the station.
 It does not float on the sea.

Interrogative sentences begin with do, does, or did.

 Do you eat bread?

 Does he eat bread?
 Does she walk to the station?
 Did they finish it?

Do not can be shortened to don't, does not to doesn't, and did not to didn't.

 I don't eat bread.

 She doesn't walk to the station.
 It doesn't float on the sea.
 They didn't finish it.

Remember the variations of action verbs:

Affirmative Sentence Negative Sentence Interrogative Sentence

I sing a song. I do not (don't) sing a song. Do I sing a song?
You sing a song. You do not (don't) sing a song. Do you sing a song?
He (she) sings a song. He (she) does not (doesn't) sing a song. Does he (she) sing a song?
We sing a song. We do not (don't) sing a song. Do we sing a song?
They sang a song. They did not (didn't) sing a song. Did they sing a song?
Adjectives
Adjectives describe or modify nouns.

I like fairy tales. A fairy tale is an imaginary story that has unrealistic characters in
a fantastic background. It makes me forget about the real world and refreshes my tired mind.

Adjectives generally appear immediately before the noun.

 A pretty girl
 Red flowers
 A long stick
 Heavy boxes
 Warm weather

Commonly, adjectives of opposite meaning are formed by adding a prefix such as un, in,
or dis.

 clear – unclear, important – unimportant, predictable – unpredictable, believable –

unbelievable, common – uncommon, aware – unaware, ambiguous – unambiguous,
conventional – unconventional, certain – uncertain
 definite – indefinite, correct – incorrect, comparable – incomparable, complete –
incomplete, evitable – inevitable, expensive – inexpensive
 able – disable, assemble – disassemble, content – discontent, similar – dissimilar

When using a string of adjectives, they should appear in a set order: size/shape + age + color
+ origin + material.

 A big brown house

 A small old English desk
 A beautiful black Italian leather purse
 Delicious Chinese food

The + adjective describes a class or group of people and acts as a noun.

 the old, the young, the poor, the rich, the oppressed, the homeless, etc.
 This popular TV show is loved by the old.

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Comparative adjectives compare two things. Superlative adjectives compare more than two
things

Commonly, adjectives that contain only one syllable or end in 'y' use 'er' to form
comparatives and 'est' to form superlatives. For adjectives ending in y, change the 'y' to 'i'
before adding the 'er' or 'est'.

 old – older – oldest

 young – younger – youngest
  pretty – prettier – prettiest
 long – longer – longest
 short – shorter – shortest
 bright – brighter – brightest
 close – closer – closest
 happy – happier - happiest

Adjectives with two or more syllables do not change but instead add more to form
comparatives and most to form superlatives.

 respectable – more respectable – most respectable

 beautiful – more beautiful – most beautiful
 preferable – more preferable – most preferable
 hardworking – more hardworking – most hardworking

Some adjectives have different forms of comparatives and superlatives.

 good – better – best

 bad – worse – worst
 little – less – least
 much (many) – more – most
 far – further - furthest

The word than typically appears in comparative sentences.

 Amy is smarter than Betty.

 Chad is stronger than Dan.
 Greg is more diligent than his brother.
 I have more apples than he.
 She likes him more than me.

Superlatives are typically accompanied by the word the.

 Tom is the oldest man in town.

 Paul is the tallest boy in the neighborhood.
 That shade of blue is the most beautiful color.
 This is the longest song that I have ever heard.

Adverbs
Adverbs modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

An adverb tells more about a verb in the sentence.

 The fire engine runs fast.

 Listen to his speech carefully.
 I browse the web frequently.
 It rained hard.
An adverb describes more about an adjective in the sentence.

 The news is very surprising!

 The coffee is extremely hot, so be careful.
 Nature is really amazing!

An adverb modifies another adverb in the sentence.

 It rains very hard.

 Computers run much faster these days.
 I clean my room less frequently because I am busy.

Commonly, adjectives can be changed to adverbs by adding 'ly'.

 slow – slowly
 quick – quickly
 comfortable – comfortably
 loud – loudly
 clear – clearly

To change adjectives ending in 'y' into adverbs, change the 'y' to 'i' and add 'ly'.

 happy – happily
 easy – easily

Simple Tense
Verb tense tells you when the action happens. There are three main verb tenses: present, past,
and future. Each main tense is divided into simple, progressive, perfect, and perfect
progressive tenses.

Present Past Future

Simple finish finished will finish
Progressive am/is/are finishing was/were finishing will be finishing
Perfect have/has finished had finished will have finished
Perfect Progressive have/has been finishing had been finishing will have been finishing

Things to remember about simple tense:

a. Present tense is the original verb form.

b. Past tense has a few patterns.
c. Future tense needs will (shall) + verb.
run

 I run a marathon twice a year. (present)

 I ran a marathon last year. (past)
 I will run a marathon next year. (future)

eat

 I eat lunch in my office.

 I ate lunch an hour ago.
 I will eat lunch in one hour.

see

 I see a movie once a week.

 I saw a movie yesterday.
 I will see a movie tomorrow.

know

 I know it.
 I knew it the day before yesterday.
 I will know it by tomorrow.

learn

 I learn English.
 I learned English the last two years.
 I will learn English next year.

cook

 I cook my supper every night.

 I cooked our dinner already.
 I will cook breakfast tomorrow.

[Quiz 10.1]

Fill in the blanks with appropriate verb forms.

1)I a song at the concert yesterday.

2)He a letter to his girlfriend tomorrow.
3)I to the library to borrow some books this weekend.

Progressive and Perfect Tense

Progressive Tense
The progressive tense involves action that is, was, or will be in progress at a certain time. In
the progressive tense, verbs are formed with a "be" verb + ing.

run

 I am running a marathon right now. (present progressive)

 I was running a marathon at this time last year. (past progressive)
 I will be running a marathon next Sunday. (future progressive)

eat

 I am eating lunch now.

 I was eating lunch when you saw me.
 I will be eating lunch in the meeting.

learn

 I am learning English at my desk.

 I was learning English the last two years.
 I will be learning English then.

cook

 I am cooking my supper now.

 I was cooking our dinner when you called me.
 I will be cooking breakfast by the time you come home.

Perfect Tense

The present perfect tense describes an action that started in the past and continues to the
present time. Use has/have + the past participle form of the verb.

The past perfect tense describes an action that started and ended in the past. Use had + the
past participle form of the verb.

The future perfect tense describes future actions that will occur before some other action.
Use will have + the past participle form of the verb.

run

 I have run several marathons this year. (present perfect)

 I had run many marathons in the past. (past perfect)
 I will have run a marathon by the time I turn 30. (future perfect)

learn

 I have learned a lot about English grammar this semester.

 I had learned the basics of English grammar in elementary school.
 I will have learned a lot about English grammar when I finish college.
know

 I have known her since I was young.

 I had known her until she passed away.
 I will have known her for 20 years next month.

cook

 I have cooked supper every night this week.

 I had cooked supper every night until the stove broke.
 I will have cooked supper every night by the time this diet ends.

[Quiz 11.1]

Using the following sentence and create three more sentences using the present, past, and
future progressive tenses.

I sing a song on the big stage.

[Quiz 11.2]

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb given.

1)He (exercise) hard since last year.

2)I (study) math as my major since high school.

View Answers
[11.1]
I am singing a song on the big stage.
I was singing a song on the big stage.
I will be singing a song on the big stage.

[11.2]
1) has exercised
2) have studied

Perfect Progressive Tense

The perfect progressive tense describes actions that repeated over a period of time in the past,
are continuing in the present, and/or will continue in the future.

The present perfect progressive tense tells you about a continuous action that was initiated in
the past and finished at some point in the past; however, the action has some relation to the
present time. Use have/has + been + ing.

 It has been raining, and the street is still wet.

 I have been running, and I am still tired.
  She has been practicing the piano, and she is much better now.

The past perfect progressive tense illustrates a continuous action in the past that was
completed before another past action. Use had + been + ing.

 It had been raining, and the street was still wet.

 I had been running, and I was still tired.
 She had been practicing the piano, and she had gotten much better.

The future perfect progressive tense indicates a continuous action that will be completed in
the future. Use will + have + been + ing.

 By tonight, it will have been raining several hours, and the street will be very wet.
 By next summer, I will have been running for almost a year, and I will be fit and
healthy.
 By the time of the concert, she will have been practicing the piano for several months,
and she will be much better.

[Quiz 12.1]

Choose the incorrect sentence from the following.

1)I have been sleeping all day today.

2)They will have been walking for almost an hour by the time they arrive at their destination.
3)She have been eating a lot recently.

View Answers
[12.1]
3) have -> has

Table of Contents
 What Are Homonyms? – Meaning and Definition
 List of Homonyms with Their Functions, Meanings and Examples
 Check Your Understanding of Homonyms
 Frequently Asked Questions on Homonyms

What Are Homonyms? – Meaning and

Definition
The word ‘homonym’ was derived from the Greek word “homonymos”,
which means having the same name. In simple terms, homonyms are
those words that have the same spelling or pronunciation but completely
different meanings and functions. Homonyms, therefore, can be said to
include both homophones and homographs.

According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, a homonym is defined as “a

word that is spelt like another word (or pronounced like it), but that has a
different meaning.” For example, “The children played with a bat.” Here,
‘bat’ refers to the sports equipment used to play cricket. Whereas “The
bats feast on the nectar of flowers.” Here, ‘bats’ refers to a type of animal
that generally comes out at night.

To help you understand better and to avoid any sort of confusion, you can
go through the list of commonly used homonyms along with their
meanings, the part of speech they belong to and sentence examples so
that you can use them correctly in the right context. Take a look at them.

List of Homonyms with Their Functions,

Meanings and Examples
Here is a list of homonyms for your reference.

Table 1

Homonyms with the Same Spelling and/or Pronunciation

Homonym Part of Meaning Sentence Example

Speech

Bear Noun A large, wild animal They saw a black bear.

Verb Being able to accept and You will have to bear the pain.
deal with something

Right Adjective Correct or true You are right.

Noun The right side Meena sat on the right.

Adverb Correctly or exactly Everything that you told us

was right.
Tear Noun A drop that comes from She had tears in her eyes at the end
your eye when you cry of the movie.

Verb To pull something apart The little girl will tear up everything
in pieces and damage it she gets.

Match Noun A game Do you know which team won

the match?

Noun A small stick used to I used a match to light up the stove.

start a fire

Verb To find something that is My mom was looking for a lining

suitable material that matches the pastel-
coloured saree she bought recently.

Ring Noun A jewel that you wear on My father bought me a diamond ring
your finger

Noun A round object I used a ring to make a

dreamcatcher.

Verb To call someone Manu will ring you in some time.

Verb To cause something to Did you hear the bell ring?

sound like a bell

Kind Noun A group of people with We are one of a kind.

similar characteristics

Adjective Being good, generous, Beena is very kind.

helpful

Lie Noun Something untrue I think she is telling a lie.

Verb To quote something My mom does not lie.

untrue

Verb To rest He is lying on the bed.

Bright Adjective Strong, full of light The sun is very bright today.

Adjective Intelligent, clever, Aarathi is a bright student.

learning quickly

Address Noun The name and number of Sherly gave her address so that we
 a building, the location of would not lose our way.
a building

Verb To write or speak to Today, Susan will be addressing the

someone first-year students.

Watch Noun A device to check the I bought a new watch.

time of the day

Verb To see or look at Can you please watch the baby for
something an hour?

Table 2

Homonyms with Different Spellings but the Same Pronunciation

Homonym Part of Meaning Sentence Example

Speech

Steal / Verb To take something from You have to be careful while

someone without their travelling, otherwise, someone
permission will steal your belongings.
Steel
Noun A metal made from iron We have a door made of steel.

I / Eye Pronoun A pronoun used to refer to I am a content writer.

the self

Noun An organ that is used to My eye is paining too badly.

see or look at what is
around you

Root / Route Noun A part of the plant that is I think this tree’s roots have gone
normally underground too deep into the ground.

Noun A way through which one I know this route really well.
travels

Blue / Blew Adjective A colour She has a pretty blue frock.

Verb To produce an airflow Santhosh blew air into the

balloons.
 Pair / Pear Noun / Verb Two similar things kept, I bought a new pair of shoes.
taken or used together
The teacher paired me with
my best friend.

Noun An edible fruit Do you like pears?

Threw / Verb To project an object to The little boy threw the ball over
Through move rapidly through air the wall.

Preposition From one side of the We will be going through the

opening to another newly-built tunnel.

Weight / Noun The quantity or mass of What is the weight of that

Wait an object cupboard?

Verb To delay an action until Can you please wait till we arrive?
another occurrence

Idol / Idle Noun An image or a My father is my idol.

representation of
someone or something
that is revered

Adjective Not particularly occupied Danny has been sitting idle from
or engaged in anything the time he woke up.

Paws / Noun The soft foot of an animal My dog puts his paws on my lap
Pause every time I am sad as if to
console me.

Verb To stop for some time We have been practising for so

long. Can we pause for a while?

Choose / Verb To make a choice or pick What would you choose?

Chews something

Verb To grind or crush food My sister chews her food well

with your teeth because she cannot simply
swallow her food.

Exercises on Homonyms
Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate homonym in the following
sentences.

1. The Queen honoured the brave ______. (knight/night)

 2. This dress ____ to be the perfect fit for Mary. (seems/seam)
3. This _____ of the brave Queen goes back to a thousand ages. (tale/tail)
4. There was a ____ in my shoe. (whole/hole)
5. I can come to your house _____. (later/latter)
6. This perfume has a strong _______ (cent/scent)
7. Will she be able to _______ the pain? (bear)
8. ___ your work, you should do it on your own. (its/it’s)
9. Tina will ____ the prize tomorrow. (except/accept)
10. The dog has been _____ (bark)

Answers
1. The Queen honoured the brave knight. (knight/night)
2. This dress seems to be the perfect fit for Mary. (seems/seam)
3. This tale of the brave Queen goes back to a thousand ages. (tale/tail)
4. There was a hole in my shoe. (whole/hole)
5. I can come to your house later. (later/latter)
6. This perfume has a strong scent. (cent/scent)
7. Will she be able to bear the pain? (bear)
8. It’s your work; you should do it on your own. (its/it’s)
9. Tina will accept the prize tomorrow. (except/accept)
10. The dog has been barking. (bark)

Frequently Asked Questions on Homonyms

Q1
What are homonyms?
The word homonym has derived from the Greek word “homonymos”,
which means having the same name. Thus homonyms are those words
that have the same spellings but completely different meanings.
Q2
What are homophones?
Homophones are words that are pronounced the same but have different
meanings. Here the word ‘phone’ means sound, and the word ‘homo’
means the same/similar sound.