English Grammar

Phrases and Its Types

Phrase Type Definition Function Example
Acts as a subject,
A phrase centered around a The tall boy won the
Noun Phrase object, or
noun, including its modifiers. race.
complement.
A phrase made up of a main Expresses action or She has been singing
Verb Phrase
verb and its auxiliaries. state. all day.
Adjective A group of words that describe Modifies a noun or The girl with curly
Phrase a noun or pronoun. pronoun. hair is my cousin.
Adverbial A group of words that modify a Tells how, when, He ran with great
Phrase verb, adjective, or adverb. where, or why. speed.
Begins with a preposition and
Prepositional Acts as adjective or The book is on the
ends with a noun or pronoun
Phrase adverb. table.
(object).
A phrase beginning with a
Swimming in the
Gerund Phrase gerund (-ing verb acting as a Functions as a noun.
lake is relaxing.
noun).
Infinitive A phrase beginning with “to” + Functions as noun, She wants to travel
Phrase base verb. adjective, or adverb. the world.
A phrase that begins with a Exhausted from the
Participle
present/past participle, Acts as an adjective. trip, she went to
Phrase
modifying a noun. sleep.
A phrase with a noun and
Absolute Modifies the whole Her arms folded, she
participle that adds detail to the
Phrase sentence. listened silently.
entire sentence.

Participle
A participle is a verb form that is used as an adjective to describe a noun or pronoun. It often
comes from a verb but acts like an adjective in the sentence.

🧠 Key Point:

 A participle describes something or someone.

 It often forms part of a phrase.
 It can show tense and voice when used in verb phrases.
 Participle
Form Function Example
Type
The smiling child waved.
(Adjective)
Present Used as an adjective or to form
Verb + -ing She is dancing
Participle continuous tenses
beautifully. (Progressive
tense)
The broken vase was
expensive. (Adjective)
Past Verb + -ed (regular) Used as an adjective or to form He has written a letter.
Participle or irregular form perfect tenses or passive voice (Perfect tense)
The window was broken.
(Passive voice)
Perfect Having + past Shows completed action before Having finished the task,
Participle participle another action she left the room.

Parts of Speech
Part of
Types Explanation Examples
Speech
- Proper: Specific names
- Common: General names
- Abstract: Ideas/feelings
- Concrete: Tangible objects Naming people, places, Ali, city, honesty, table,
Noun
- Collective: Groups things, ideas team, apples, water
- Countable: Can be counted
- Uncountable: Can't be
counted
- Personal: I, you, he
- Possessive: my, their
- Reflexive: myself,
ourselves Replace nouns and She loves her cat. That is
Pronoun
- Demonstrative: this, those avoid repetition mine.
- Relative: who, that
- Interrogative: who, what
- Indefinite: someone, many
- Action: run, write
- Linking: is, seem
Show action, He runs fast. She is a
Verb - Auxiliary: is, have, will
condition, or state teacher. I ate rice.
- Transitive: takes object
- Intransitive: no object
 Part of
Types Explanation Examples
Speech
- Regular: ends in –ed
- Irregular: has different
past forms
- Descriptive: red, tall
- Quantitative: many, some
- Demonstrative: this, those
- Possessive: my, their
Modify nouns and That red apple is mine.
Adjective - Interrogative: which, what
pronouns Which book is yours?
- Distributive: each, every
- Comparative: bigger
- Superlative: biggest
- Proper: American, Islamic
- Manner: how (quickly)
- Time: when (now, soon)
- Place: where (here, there)
- Frequency: how often Modify verbs, She ran quickly. We will
Adverb (always) adjectives, or other go tomorrow. It is very
- Degree: how much (very) adverbs hot.
- Interrogative: when, why
- Relative: where, when
(introducing clauses)
- Simple: in, on, at
- Compound: within, outside
- Double: into, onto
Show relationship with The keys are on the table.
- Phrase Prepositions: in
Preposition other words (time, We went because of the
front of, because of
place, cause) rain.
- Participle: concerning,
during
- Disguised: a’ (on), o’ (of)
- Coordinating: and, but, or
(FANBOYS)
- Subordinating: because, Ali and Sara are here.
although, if Connect words, She left because it
Conjunction
- Correlative: either…or, phrases, or clauses rained. Either you go or I
neither…nor will.
- Conjunctive Adverb:
however, therefore
- Emotive: Wow! Oh no!
Express sudden Wow! That’s amazing!
Interjection - Greeting: Hello! Hey!
emotion or reaction Ouch! That hurts.
- Approval/Disapproval:
 Part of
Types Explanation Examples
Speech
Yes! Ugh!
- Callings: Hey! Yo!
- Sounds: Ouch! Yikes!

Grammar Rules
Rule Category Key Rule Examples
Subject-Verb A singular subject takes a singular verb;
She runs, They run
Agreement plural subject takes plural verb
Use consistent tense in a sentence unless
Tenses He ate lunch and went to bed.
time changes
"A" and "an" are indefinite; "the" is
Articles A book, An apple, The sun
definite
Wrong: She almost drove her
Place modifiers close to the word they kids to school every day.
Modifiers
modify Correct: She drove her kids to
school almost every day.
Use commas, full stops, etc., correctly
Punctuation Ali, my friend, is a doctor.
for clarity
Pronoun- Pronouns must agree with the nouns they Each student must bring his or
Antecedent replace in number and gender her book.
Prepositions show relationship (time,
Prepositions The book is on the table.
place, direction)
Connect clauses using proper I stayed home because it was
Conjunctions
conjunctions raining.
Active & Passive Active = subject does the action; Passive Ali wrote a letter. → A letter
Voice = subject receives the action was written by Ali.
Direct & Indirect Change pronouns, tense, and time She said, “I am tired.” → She
Speech expressions properly said (that) she was tired.

Vocab Rules
Rule Type Rule/Tip Examples
happy → unhappy, teach
Word Formation Add prefixes/suffixes to form new words
→ teacher
 Rule Type Rule/Tip Examples
Synonyms & Learn word meanings with big – large (synonym), hot
Antonyms opposites/similar words – cold (antonym)
make a decision, do
Collocations Some words naturally go together
homework, take a break
give up, look after, run out
Phrasal Verbs Verb + preposition/adverb combinations
of
Idiomatic spill the beans = reveal a
Meanings are not literal
Expressions secret
He was famished; he hadn’t
Context Clues Guess word meaning from surrounding text
eaten all day.
Understand common roots to predict bio (life) → biology,
Root Words
meanings biography
Words that sound alike but differ in
Homophones their, there, they’re
spelling/meaning
Connotation & Denotation = dictionary meaning; slim (positive), skinny
Denotation Connotation = emotional meaning (negative)
Word Families Learn groups of related words act, action, active, actor

Tenses
Tense Description Example
Present Tense Describes actions happening now or regularly She reads every morning.
Present Describes ongoing actions happening now or
I am reading a book.
Progressive temporary actions
Describes actions that occurred at an
She has read five books this
Present Perfect unspecified time or actions that started in the
month.
past and continue in the present
Describes actions that started in the past and
Present Perfect I have been reading for two
continue or were recently completed, focusing
Progressive hours.
on the process
I walked to the park
Past Tense Describes completed actions in the past
yesterday.
Describes an ongoing action in the past or an She was reading when the
Past Progressive
interrupted action phone rang.
Describes an action completed before another By the time I arrived, she
Past Perfect
past action had finished her homework.
 Tense Description Example
They had been playing for
Past Perfect Describes the duration of an ongoing action in
hours before they took a
Progressive the past before another past action
break.
Future Tense Describes actions that will happen in the future She will travel tomorrow.
Future Describes an action that will be ongoing at a
I will be working at 5 PM.
Progressive specific time in the future
Describes an action that will be completed By next week, I will have
Future Perfect
before a specific time in the future finished the project.
By the time you arrive, I
Future Perfect Describes an action that will continue until a
will have been waiting for
Progressive certain point in the future
an hour.

Gerunds, Infinitives and Participles

Form Definition Example
A verb form ending in "-ing" that functions Reading is my favorite hobby.
Gerunds
as a noun (Subject)
She enjoys dancing. (Object)
The base form of a verb preceded by "to";
Infinitives I want to learn Spanish. (Purpose)
expresses purpose or intention
He promised to help me with my
homework. (Verb + infinitive)
A verb form that can function as an Present participle: The running water
Participles
adjective or part of a verb tense was cold.
Past participle: The broken window
needs repair.

Sentence Structure
Based
Type Purpose / Structure Example
On

Declarative Function States a fact I am learning grammar.

Interrogative Function Asks a question Are you coming?

 Based
Type Purpose / Structure Example
On

Imperative Function Gives a command Sit down.

Exclamatory Function Shows emotion What a surprise!

Simple Structure One independent clause She dances.

Compound Structure Two+ independent clauses I came, and she left.

One independent + one

Complex Structure Because it’s late, we should go.
dependent clause

Compound- Two independent + one Though he was late, he finished the

Structure
Complex dependent clause work, and he left quickly.

Connectives and Transitional Devices

Function Common Connectives

Addition and, also, in addition, moreover, furthermore

Contrast but, however, although, yet, on the other hand

Cause/Effect because, so, therefore, thus, as a result

Time/Sequence first, next, then, after that, finally

Comparison similarly, likewise, in the same way

Clarification/Example for example, for instance, in other words

Conclusion/Summary in conclusion, to sum up, overall, hence

Concept Key Focus

Sentence Structure Arrangement of subject, verb, clauses

Subject–Verb Agreement Matching verb to the subject in number/person

Pronoun–Noun Agreement Matching pronoun to the noun’s number/gender

Connectives/Transitions Linking ideas smoothly with correct logical relationships