Use of Nouns in constructing sentences

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

Count nouns Vs Non 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, these televisions, 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 Spanish. Do you see any traffic on the road? That wine is very old. Do NOT work with expressions such as (these, those, every, each, either, or neither).

Use of Verbs In constructing sentences

'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?

Auxiliary Verbs "Be," "Do," "Have"

An auxiliary verb helps the main (full) verb and is also called a "helping verb." With auxiliary verbs, you can write sentences in different tenses, moods, or voices. Auxiliary verbs are: be, do, have, will, shall, would, should, can, could, may, might, must, ought, etc. 

• I think I should study harder to master English.

• I am having a cup of coffee.

• You have been practicing hard.

• It was written by a petitioner.

• You may choose what you like.

The verb forms of be, do, and have can be used either as a main (full) verb or an auxiliary verb. The following examples show these verbs used as auxiliary verbs. 

1. "Be" as an auxiliary verb

a.Used in progressive sentences:

• I am taking a bath.

• She is preparing dinner for us.

• They have been studying all night.

b.Used in passive sentences:

• I was given a free meal.

• He was seen by fans at the airport.

• This song has been sung by all nations.

2."Do" as an auxiliary verb

a. Used in negative sentences:

• I do not know the truth.

• She doesn’t agree with me.

• They didn’t arrive here yet.

b.Used in questions:

• Do you want to have another one?

• Did he finish his homework?

• Do we need to keep going straight?

3."Have" as an auxiliary verb

a. Used in perfect sentences:

• I have been following you for a mile.

• We have done a lot so far.

• She had been queen of the town.

Quiz

Identify all auxiliary verbs in the following paragraph.

I have just heard that you did not attend the meeting yesterday. Did you have a conflict with that time? I must ask that you explain the reason.

Auxiliary Verbs "Will/Would" and "Shall/Should"

The verbs will, would, shall, should, can, could, may, might, and must cannot be the main (full) verbs alone. They are used as auxiliary verbs only and always need a main verb to follow. 

Will

Used to express desire, preference, choice, or consent:

• I will take this duty.

• Will you stop talking like that?

Used to express the future:

• It will rain tomorrow.

• The news will spread soon.

Used to express capacity or capability:

• This bucket will hold two gallons of water.

• This airplane will take 200 passengers.

Used to express determination, insistence, or persistence:

• I will do it as you say.

Would (past form of will)

Often used in auxiliary functions with rather to express preference:

• I would rather go shopping today.

• We’d rather say something than stay quiet.

Used to express a wish or desire:

• I would like to have one more pencil.

Used to express contingency or possibility:

• If I were you, I would be so happy.

Used to express routine or habitual things:

• Normally, we would work until 6 p.m.

Shall

Mainly used in American English to ask questions politely (it has more usages in British English). For the future tense, will is more frequently used in American English than shall.

• Shall we dance?

• Shall I go now?

• Let’s drink, shall we?

Often used in formal settings to deliver obligation or requirement:

• You shall abide by the law.

• There shall be no trespassing on this property.

• Students shall not enter this room.

Should (past form of shall)

Often used in auxiliary functions to express an opinion, suggestion, preference, or idea:

• You should rest at home today.

• I should take a bus this time.

• He should be more thoughtful in the decision-making process.

Used to express that you wish something had happened but it didn’t or couldn’t (should + have + past participle):

• You should have seen it. It was really beautiful.

• I should have completed it earlier to meet the deadline.

• We should have visited the place on the way.

Used to ask for someone’s opinion: 

• What should we do now?

• Should we continue our meeting?

• Should we go this way?

• Where should we go this summer?

Used to say something expected or correct:

• There should be an old city hall building here.

• Everybody should arrive by 6 p.m.

• We should be there this evening.

Auxiliary Verbs "Can/Could" and "May/Might/Must"

Can

Used to express ability (to be able to do something):

• I can make jewelry.

• He can’t speak French.

• Can you open this jar?

Used to ask for permission:

• Can I use your bathroom?

• Can I leave now?

• Can I raise the volume?

Used to make requests or suggestions:

• Can I have more napkins?

• Can I have the bill?

• You can take this spot if you like.

• You can do whatever you want.

Could (past form of can)

Describes an ability that someone had in the past:

• I could swim when I was young.

• You could see the boat sinking.

• They could tell he was nervous.

Often used in auxiliary functions to express permission politely:

• Could I take this jacket with me?

• You could borrow my umbrella.

• Could you please let me pass you?

• Could I get you more water?

Used to express possibility:

• All of them could ride in the van.

• You could always stay at our house.

• Could it be true?

• This plan could really work out.

May

Used to ask for formal permission:

• May I come in?

• May I say something now?

• May I ask one question?

Used to suggest something that is possible:

• She may agree with this plan.

• They may not be happy about what happened.

• It may shower tonight.

Might (past form of may)

Used to suggest a smaller possibility than may does (actually, might is more common than may in American English):

• He might have finished it.

• I might go see a doctor.

• I might not come this time.

• It might be right.

• You might have lost it.

• The store might have been closed today.

Must

Used to express something formally required or necessary:

• I must complete the project by this week.

• The government must provide health care for everybody.

• Everyone must save the natural resources of the earth.

• The building must have a fire alarm.

• You must answer my question right now.

Used to show that something is very likely:

• He must be a genius.

• You must be joking!

• There must be an accident.

• She must be very tired.

EIGHT PARTS A SPEECH IN ENGLISH WITH A FEW EXAMPLES

Part of speech	function or "job"	example words	example sentences
Verb	action or state	(to) be, have, do, like, work, sing, can, must	Juventus Football team is an Italian club. I like Juventus Football club.
Noun	thing or person	Stick, Cat, work, music, kennel, Rome, Lecture, Paolo	This is my cat. He lives in a kennel. We are travelling to   Rome.
Adjective	describes a noun	a/an, the, some, good, small, red, well, interesting	I have two dogs. My dogs are big. I like big dogs. I saw an elephant today
Adverb	describes a verb, adjective or adverb	quickly, silently, well, badly, very, really	My brother runs quickly. He is very interesting, he really inspires me.
Pronoun	replaces a noun	I, you, he, she, some	Paolo is Italian.  He is handsome.
Preposition	links a noun to another word	to, at, after, on, but	We went to school on Monday.
Conjunction	joins clauses or sentences or words	and, but, when	I like vegetables and I like good soups. I like vegetables but I don't like soups.
Interjection	short exclamation, sometimes inserted into a sentence	oh! ouch!, hi!, well	Ouch! That hurts! Hi! How are you? Well, That sounds crazy.

* Examples of other categorizations are:

• Verbs may be treated as two different parts of speech:
• Lexical Verbs (work, like, run)
• Auxiliary Verbs (be, have, must)
• Determiners may be treated as a separate part of speech, instead of being categorized under Adjective