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Order of adjectives
How to order adjectives in English
In many languages, adjectives denoting attributes usually occur in a specific order. Generally, theadjective order in English is:
1. Quantity or number
2. Quality or opinion
. !i"e
#. $ge
%. !hape
&. 'olor
(. )roper adjective *often nationality, other place of origin, or material+
. )urpose or -ualifier
or e/ample:
1. I love that really big old green antique car that al0ays pared at the end of the street.
2. y sister adopted a beautiful big white bulldog.
3hen there are t0o or more adjectives that are from the same group, the 0ord and is placed bet0een the t0o adjectives:
1. 4he house is green and red.
2. 4he library has old and ne0 boos.
3hen there are three or more adjectives from the same adjective group, place a comma bet0eeneach of the coordinate adjectives:
1. 3e live in the big green, white and red house at the end of the street.
2. y friend lost a red, black and white 0atch.
$ comma is not placed bet0een an adjective and the noun.
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Explanation Past Present Future
i!ple Past i!ple Present Future " i!ple
action that taes place
once, never or severaltimes
5e played footballevery 4uesday.
5e plays footballevery 4uesday.
5e 0ill 6 is going to
play football every4uesday.
actions that happenone after another 5e played football andthen he 0ent home. 5e plays football andthen he goes home.
5e 0ill play football
and then he 0ill gohome.
state 5e loved football. 5e loves football. 5e 0ill love football.
Past Progressive Present Progressive Future " Progressive
action going on at thatmoment
5e 0as playingfootball.
5e is playing football.5e 0ill be playingfootball.
actions taing place at
the same time
5e 0as playing
football and she 0as
0atching.
5e is playing football
and she is 0atching.
5e 0ill be playing
football and she 0ill
be 0atching.
Past Perfect i!plePresent Perfect
i!pleFuture "" i!ple
action taing place before a certain
moment in time7
emphasises the result
5e had 0on five
matches until that day.
5e has 0on five
matches so far.
5e 0ill have 0on five
matches by then.
Past Perfect
Progressive
Present Perfect
ProgressiveFuture "" Progressive
action taing place
before a certainmoment in time *and
beyond+, emphasises
the duration
5e had been playingfootball for ten years.
5e has been playingfootball for ten years.
5e 0ill have been playing football for
ten years.
Simple Tenses
4here are three basic times 0hen verbs can tae place: past, present, and future.
4hese are the easy ones to remember. In fact, they are called simple tenses.
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#$ i!ple present tense verbs sho0 actions that happen regularly or that are permanently
happening.
We play football in the backyard.
My niece skips down the road.
%$ i!ple past tense verbs are verbs that sho0 actions that too place in the past.
We played football in the backyard.
My niece skipped down the road
&$ i!ple future tense verbs are verbs that sho0 actions that have not taen place yet, but that
0ill tae place in the future.
We will play football in the backyard.
My niece will skip down the road.
You can learn more about simple tenses with these stories and exercises.
Perfect Tenses
English verbs also have three perfect verb tenses: present perfect tense, past perfect tense, and
future perfect tense.
4hese tenses are pretty cool, I guess, but I8m not sure that I8d call them perfect . 3hoever named
these guys sure thought highly of them.
$t any rate, all of these perfect tenses are formed 0ith the helping verbs have, has, had,
will and shall and the past participles of the verb.
'$ Present perfect tense verbs sho0 actions that 0ere finished recently or ones that 0ere
completed at an indefinite time in the past. 4hese use has or have.
We have played football.
My niece has skipped down the road.
($ Past perfect tense verbs sho0 actions that came directly before another action in the past.
4hese use had .
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We had played football.
My niece had skipped down the road before I came.
)$ Future perfect tense verbs sho0 actions that 0ill happen before other future actions happens.
4hese use will have and shall have.
By tomorrow, we will have played football.
By noon, my niece will have skipped down the road.
Progressive/Continuous Forms
9oth simple and perfect verb tenses can also be made into progressive verb forms. !ometimesthey are also called continuous.
4hat just means that they sho0 an action that is in progress or that is continuing.
4o form this type of verb, you add one of the forms of the verb be 0ith the present participle of
the verb. *4he present participle ends in ing .+
We are playing. *present progressive+
We were playing. * past progressive+
We will be playing. *future progressive+
We have been playing. *present perfect progressive+
We had been playing. *past perfect progressive+
We will have been playing. *future perfect progressive+
*egular +erbs
4hese are not a different tense, but they are an important thing to learn about.
;erbs that add d or ed to their present form to form the past tense are regular verbs.
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5ere are some sentences 0ith regular verbs. <otice that they end in d or ed .
The dog jumped toward the suirrel.
We all noticed the stain on his shirt.
My grandmother knitted me this scarf.
"rregular +erbs
Irregular verbs are not a different tense, but they are also an important topic to study.
4he 0ord irregular means not regular , so irregular verbs are those that have unpredictable forms
in the past tense.
4hey don8t add d or ed to their present form to form the past tense are irregular verbs.
5ere are some sentences 0ith irregular verbs 0ritten in the past tense. <otice that they don8t end
in d or ed .
I ate my vegetables.
We swam across the lake.
My mother read me a bedtime story.
The Object of the Preposition
Recognize an object of the preposition when you see one.
)repositions often begin prepositional phrases. 4o complete the phrase, the preposition usually
teams up 0ith a noun, pronoun, or gerund, or the object of the preposition. 5ere are some
e/amples:
$t noon
$t = preposition7 noon = noun or the object of the preposition.
9ehind them
9ehind = preposition7 them = pronoun or the object of the preposition.
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3ithout snee"ing
3ithout = preposition7 snee"ing = gerund or the object of the preposition.
4he object of the preposition 0ill often have modifiers that add description:
$t the itchen counter
$t = preposition7 the, itchen = modifiers7 counter = noun or the object of the preposition.
9et0een us only
9et0een = preposition7 us = pronoun or the object of the preposition7 only = modifier.
3ithout completely finishing
3ithout = preposition7 completely = modifier7 finishing = gerund or the object of the
preposition.
Infre-uently, a clause 0ill be the object of the preposition, as in this e/ample:
In class today, 0e taled about 0hat r. >uncan e/pects in our ne/t research essay.
$bout = preposition7 0hat r. >uncan e/pects in our ne/t research essay = noun clause or the
object of the preposition.
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Dependent Clauses: Adverbial, Adjectival, Nominal
Dependent clauses may work like adverbs, adjectives, or nouns in complex sentences.
1. Adverbial clauses
Like a singleword adverb, an adverbial clause describes a verb !in t"e sentence#s main
clause$ and answers one o% t"ese &uestions
where? why? how? when? to what degree?
An adverbial clause begins wit" a subordinating conjunction, w"ic" makes t"e clause
subordinate !dependent$.
Common subordinating conjunctions:
after in order (that) unless
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although insofar as until
as in that when
as far as lest whenever
as soon as no matter how where
as if now that wherever
as though once whether
because provided (that) while
before since why
even if so that
even though supposing (that)
how than
if that
inasmuch as though
in case (that) till
'xample o% adverbial clause answering when?
When will t"e %lowers bloom( Answer: w"en spring arrives
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'xample o% adverbial clause answering why?
Why didn#t t"e poor woman "ave money( Answer : because s"e "ad lost "er job
'xample o% adverbial clause answering where?
Where is t"ere %ire( Answer : w"ere t"ere is smoke
'xample o% adverbial clause answering how?
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How did "e answer t"e &uestion( Answer: as i% "e knew t"e subject &uite well
'xample o% adverbial clause answering to what degree?
To what degree o% lateness will )ones arrive( Answer: !later$ t"an *mit" !will
arrive$
Anot"er example o% an adverbial clause answering to what degree?
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To what degree is "e young( Answer: !younger$ t"an "is brot"er !is$
Comma use with adverbial clauses
Comma use wit" adverbial clauses depends upon placement o% t"e adverbial clause.
+% t"e adverbial clause introduces t"e sentence, place a comma between it and t"e main
clause.
+% t"e adverbial clause %ollows t"e main clause in a sentence, do not place a comma
between t"e two.
2. Adectival clauses
Like a singleword adjective, an adjectival clause describes a noun !in t"e sentence#s
main clause$ and answers one o% t"ese &uestions
which one? what !ind?
An adjectival clause usually begins wit" a relative pronoun, w"ic" makes t"e clause
subordinate !dependent$.
Common relative pronouns:
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that which who whom whose
NOTE: se who, whom, and whose to describe people.
se that and which to describe t"ings.
Adjectival clauses always %ollow t"e person, place, or t"ing t"ey describe, usually
immediately.
'xample o% adjectival clause answering which one?
Which book did )oe read( Answer: t"e one t"at + gave "im
'xample o% adjectival clause answering what kind?
What kind o% politician "as t"e support o% t"e people( Answer : one w"o is
trustwort"y
Adjectival clauses may also begin wit" selected subordinating conjunctions:
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when to describe a time
where to describe a place
why to describe a reason
Comma use with adectival clauses
Comma use wit" adjectival clauses depends upon essentiality o% t"e adjectival clause.
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+% t"e adjectival clause is essential !or -needed-$, no commas s"ould be used to
separate it %rom t"e main clause.
enerally, essential adjectival clauses s"ould not begin wit" which.
'xamples
*ince t"e adjectival clauses in t"e above examples are needed to clari%y t"e noun
t"at t"ey describe, t"ey are essential and s"ould not be separated %rom t"e rest o% t"e
sentence wit" commas.
+% t"e adjectival clause is nonessential !or -not needed-$, commas s"ould separate it
%rom t"e main clause.
Nonessential adjectival clauses s"ould not begin wit" that.
'xamples
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*ince t"e adjectival clauses in t"e above examples are not needed to clari%y t"e
noun t"at t"ey describe, t"ey are nonessential and s"ould be separated %rom t"e rest
o% t"e sentence wit" commas.
Note t"e di%%erence between t"e sentences in eac" pair:
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". #ominal Clauses
Like a noun, a nominal clause names a person, place, t"ing, or idea. A nominal clause
may %unction in a sentence as any o% t"e %ollowing:
subect subective complement appositive obect o$
preposition direct obect indirect obect retained
obect
Nominal clauses may begin wit" interrogatives:
who whom what which whoever whomever whatever when
where how why
An interrogative beginning a nominal clause "as a %unction within t"e nominal clause.
'ac" o% t"e %ollowing examples illustrates
• a nominal clause
• t"e %unction o% t"e nominal clause wit"in t"e sentence
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• t"e %unction o% t"e interrogative wit"in t"e nominal clause
Nominal clause as subject in sentence
Nominal clause as subjective complement in sentence
Nominal clause as object o% preposition in sentence
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Nominal clause as direct object in sentence
Nominal clause as indirect object in sentence
Nominal clause as retained object in sentence
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Nominal clauses may also begin wit" expletives:
that whether if
An expletive beginning a nominal clause "as no $unction wit"in t"e nominal clause.
Nominal clause beginning wit" expletive that
Nominal clause beginning wit" expletive whether
Nominal clause beginning wit" expletive if
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