Back to English

Adverbs modify adjectives, verbs and other adverbs. Here are instances where the modifications are made:

(a) Modify adjectives:

He is happy now.
(adj.) (adv.)

(b) Modify verbs:

He smiles happily.
(verb)  (adv.)

(c) Modify other adverbs:

He smiles happily now.
(adv.)  (adv.)

An adverb answers the questions:

• Where?
• When?
• How?
• How often?
• To what extent?

Examples:

1. Wait here (Where? Here). I’ll look for him. He could be anywhere (Where? Anywhere).
2. The principal wants to see you now. (When? Now.)
3. The speaker spoke softly, so that we couldn’t hear him. (How did he speak? Softly.)
4. Siva always goes jogging (How often? Always.); he never plays any games. (How often? Never.)
5. The buildings were completely damaged after the earthquake. (To what extent? Completely)

Take note:

Many adverbs end in -ly. However, the word hard cannot be changed to hardly. The reason is, the word hardly has a completely different meaning although both are adverbs.  Observe these sentences:

• Samantha studies hard. = [Samantha studies many hours each day.]
• Samantha hardly studies. = [Samantha doesn't study at all, or maybe very little.]
• Samantha studies hardly. (X) – no meaning
  

Adjectives modify nouns. They give more information about the words they modify. An adjective answers the questions:

• How many?
• What kind?
• Which one?

Examples:

1. Some students are absent today. (How many? Some.)
2. Students have to bring their identification card. (What kind of card? Identification.)
3. These cookies are delicious! (Which cookies? These.)
4. Razak is a happy man; he smiles all the time. (What kind of feeling? Happy.)

The examples above show that adjectives give more information about the nouns. In addition, possessive pronouns could also be adjectives. Look at the examples below:

Examples (using possessive pronouns):

1. He is coming to my party tomorrow. (Whose party? My party.)
2. They forgot to bring their textbooks to class. (Whose textbooks? Their textbooks.)
3. We have to return our books to the library today. (Whose books? Our books.)

It is possible to use more than one adjective before a noun. However you need to follow the opshacom rule. Click here to take you to the opshacom rule.

The verb is the most critical part of a sentence. Without a verb, a sentence is not complete; a complete sentence must have a verb.

The verb expresses actions, events, or states of being.

• (action): bite, steal, run, collect, take
• (state of being): is, are, has, did, will 

A verb that tells what a noun does is called an action verb. Another type of verb does not show action; it shows the state of being. Verbs like these are called auxiliary verbs.

Examples: 

1. Timothy and his friends take a bus home daily. (take = action verb)
2. Timothy and his friends are coming. (are = auxiliary verb)

Pronouns are words we use to replace a noun. It prevents us from using the same noun over and over again. Observe this short paragraph:

• Abdullah and I are brothers. Abdullah and I enjoy reading and computing. Every week, Mr. Tan gives Abdullah and I computing classes for free.

Notice that “Abdullah and I” is repeated twice. To avoid repetition of nouns, you have to use pronouns. So, the paragraph above should look like this:

• Abdullah and I are brothers. We enjoy reading and computing. Every week, Mr. Tan gives us computing classes for free.

Notice also that different forms of pronouns are used in different positions in the sentence. In the example above, the pronouns “we” and “us” are used. Here are all the possible pronouns that can be used in sentences:

Using the same example:

• Abdullah and I are brothers. We enjoy reading and computing. Every week, Mr. Tan gives us computing classes for free.

The pronoun “we” is the subject of the sentence: “We enjoy…”
The pronoun “us” is the object of the word “gives”: “Mr. Tan gives us ...”

Reflexive Pronoun:

Another type of pronoun. It is use to point to oneself, which is why reflexive pronouns always end in either the “-self” for singular, or “-selves” for plural pronouns. Here are some examples:

1. I made this origami (by) myself. – [No one helped me make it.]
2. You have to answer these questions (by) yourself. – [No one is allowed to help you; you're on your own.]
3. John made the cookies (by) himself. – [No one helped him make the cookies.]
4. The children went home (by) themselves. – [No one took them home; they went home on their own.]
5. Both of us went there ourselves. – [No one else went there with us.]

Using “by” with reflexive pronouns:

In all the above examples, the preposition “by” could be used before the reflexive pronoun but it’s often optional. However, in some instances, it is mandatory to include the word “by”. Compare these two and see if you can tell the difference in meaning.

1. I cooked myself.
2. I cooked [something] by myself.

In the first sentence, it doesn’t make sense to put yourself in a pot and cook your own self!! That’s what the sentence actually means.

Yourself or yourselves?

Actually, both are correct. Use “yourself” if you’re referring to only one person – you. Use “yourselves” if you’re referring to a group of people – students, for instance. Look at the following examples:

1. Did you come here by yourself?
2. Did both of you come here by yourselves?

Using “for” with reflexive pronouns:

The same examples are used but take note of the differences in meaning.

1. I made this origami for myself.
2. John made the cookies for himself.

In Example #1 above, the sentence appears to indicate that I’m keeping that origami, so no one shall have it. In Example #2, John made the cookies because he wanted to eat it, and he probably wouldn’t share it with anyone. As you can see, “by” and “for” cannot be interchanged. They both give different meaning to sentences.

There is another type of pronoun called relative pronoun. Click here for further details.

A noun is a word used to name a person, animal, place, thing, and abstract idea. Examples of nouns:

• (person): Peter, Ali, teacher, doctor, minister
• (animal): fish, dog, pig, goat, spider, insect
• (place): hotel, restaurant, workshop, garden, city
• (object): book, hose, pencil, computer, television
• (abstract): happiness, employment, entertainment, sadness, opportunity

Here are some sentences that make use of nouns:

1. Peter has a dog that loves to run in the garden.
2. Many people work in the city because of better opportunities.
3. Due to a recession, many have to look for employment.

Nouns are further divided into two – common and proper. Common nouns are words that names animate and inanimate objects (e.g.: book, fireman, street). Proper nouns are more “formal” because they need capital letters to name the objects (e.g.: Harry Potter, James, Park Avenue).