Sunday, March 20, 2011

General Grammar Refresher

In English, there are three basic tenses: present, past, and future. Each has a perfect form, indicating completed action; each has a progressive form, indicating ongoing action; and each has a perfect progressive form, indicating ongoing action that will be completed at some definite time. Here is a list of examples of these tenses and their definitions:

Simple Forms
Present Tense
Present tense expresses an unchanging, repeated, or reoccurring action or situation that exists only now. It can also represent a widespread truth.
Example
Meaning
The mountains are tall and white.
Unchanging action
Every year, the school council elects new members.
Recurring action
Pb is the chemical symbol for lead.
Widespread truth
Past Tense
Past tense expresses an action or situation that was started and finished in the past. Most past tense verbs end in -ed. The irregular verbs have special past tense forms which must be memorized.

Example
Form
W.W.II ended in 1945.
Regular -ed past
Ernest Hemmingway wrote "The Old Man and the Sea."
Irregular form
Future Tense

Future tense expresses an action or situation that will occur in the future. This tense is formed by using will/shall with the simple form of the verb.

The speaker of the House will finish her term in May of 1998.
The future tense can also be expressed by using amis, or are with going to.
The surgeon is going to perform the first bypass in Minnesota.
We can also use the present tense form with an adverb or adverbial phrase to show future time.
The president speaks tomorrow. (Tomorrow is a future time adverb.)

Progressive Forms

Present Progressive Tense

Present progressive tense describes an ongoing action that is happening at the same time the statement is written. This tense is formed by using am/is/are with the verb form ending in -ing.


The sociologist is examining the effects that racial discrimination has on society.

Past Progressive Tense

Past progressive tense describes a past action which was happening when another action occurred. This tense is formed by using was/were with the verb form ending in -ing.
The explorer was explaining the lastest discovery in Egypt when protests began on the streets.

Future Progressive Tense

Future progressive tense describes an ongoing or continuous action that will take place in the future. This tense is formed by using will be or shall be with the verb form ending in -ing.
Dr. Jones will be presenting ongoing research on sexist language next week.


Perfect Forms
Present Perfect Tense
Present perfect tense describes an action that happened at an indefinite time in the past or that began in the past and continues in the present.This tense is formed by using has/have with the past participle of the verb. Most past participles end in -ed. Irregular verbs have special past participles that must be memorized.

Example
Meaning
The researchers have traveled to many countries in order to collect more significant data.
At an indefinite time
Women have voted in presidential elections since 1921.
Continues in the present
Past Perfect Tense

Past perfect tense describes an action that took place in the past before another past action. This tense is formed by using had with the past participle of the verb.

By the time the troops arrived, the war had ended.

Future Perfect Tense

Future perfect tense describes an action that will occur in the future before some other action. This tense is formed by using will have with the past participle of the verb.

By the time the troops arrive, the combat group will have spent several weeks waiting.

Perfect Progressive Forms

Present Perfect Progressive

Present perfect progressive tense describes an action that began in the past, continues in the present, and may continue into the future. This tense is formed by using has/have been and the present participle of the verb (the verb form ending in -ing).


The CEO has been considering a transfer to the state of Texas where profits would be larger.

Past Perfect Progressive

Past perfect progressive tense describes a past, ongoing action that was completed before some other past action. This tense is formed by using had been and the present perfect of the verb (the verb form ending in -ing).
Before the budget cuts, the students had been participating in many extracurricular activities.

Future Perfect Progressive

Future perfect progressive tense describes a future, ongoing action that will occur before some specified future time. This tense is formed by using will have been and the present participle of the verb (the verb form ending in -ing).


Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Normal Pronoun – Antecedent agreement. The pronoun agrees in number, gender, person with its antecedent.
Ex. The driver should be careful or __________ may place the life of his passenger in danger.
-       A driver should be careful or he may place the life of the passengers in danger.

Cases of Pronoun

                The form of the pronoun depends on its case.

Nominative Case – if the pronoun is used as subject of a clause / sentence or if it is the subjective complement, it follows the nominative forms I, we he, she, it, they.

Possessive Case – If the pronoun owns something, it uses its possessive  case forms: my (mine), our (us), his/her (hers), its, their/theirs.

Objective Case – If the pronoun is used as an object – DO, IO, object of preposition, OC, appositive of an object, it uses its objective case forms – me, us, him/ her, them.

                Pronouns with Double Reference

                                                The ambiguity of the reference can be corrected by repeating the antecedent, using synonym or another word for the antecedent, changing the construction of the sentence.

                Examples:

                                Ambiguous: Tita told her mother that she was late.
                                Right             : Tita told her mother “You are late”.
                                                        Tita told her mother that the latter was late.

  
Prepositions

preposition links nounspronouns and phrases to other words in asentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition.
List of common prepositions
 
about
above
across
after
against
around
at
before
behind
below
beneath
beside
besides
between
beyond
by
down
during
except
for
from
in
inside
into
like
near
of
off
on
out
outside
over
since
through
throughout
till
to
toward
under
up
upon
with
without
according to
because of
by way of
in addition to
in front of
in place of
in regard to
in spite of
instead of
on account of
out of 

Prepositions of Time: at, on, and in

We use at to designate specific times.
The train is due at 12:15 p.m.

We use on to designate days and dates.
My brother is coming on Monday.
We're having a party on the Fourth of July.

We use in for nonspecific times during a day, a month, a season, or a year.
She likes to jog in the morning.
It's too cold in winter to run outside.
He started the job in 1971.
He's going to quit in August.

 Prepositions of Place: at, on, and in

We use at for specific addresses.
Grammar English lives at 55 Boretz Road in Durham.

We use on to designate names of streets, avenues, etc.
Her house is on Boretz Road.

And we use in for the names of land-areas (towns, counties, states, countries, and continents).
She lives in Durham.
Durham is in Windham County.
Windham County is in Connecticut.

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