English grammar explained in plain language simple enough to be understood.
Every propositional phrase ends with an object of the preposition. The object of the preposition is always a noun. Look at these prepositional phrases:down the stairsin the cornerover the bridgeunder the tableby the doorThe last word of each phrase is… Read more704. The Noun as Object of the Preposition
A clause is a group of words with a subject and some action. In English, we have both independent clause and dependent clause. A dependent clause is also called a subordinate clause. An independent clause is the same as a… Read more721. The Clause – Independent and Dependent
A subordinating conjunction is a word that starts a subordinate clause. Here are some of the most often-used subordinating conjunctions: if, when, while, since, before, after, because, unless, until We use a subordinating conjunction to begin a subordinate clause in… Read more722. Subordinating Conjunctions in the Complex Sentence
A complex sentence contains an independent clause and a subordinate clause. If you begin the sentence with a subordinating conjunction, then you must put a comma after the subordinate clause. Look at these examples:If it rains, we will not go… Read more723. Reverse the Clauses in a Complex Sentence
We sometimes add a group of letters to the end of a verb to form an adjective. Adding the suffix –ive turns some verbs into adjectives. Here is a partial list of verbs that become adjectives with the suffix -ive:support… Read more756. Make an Adjective by Adding -ive to a Verb
We can add the letters –able to some verbs to make adjectives.enjoy – enjoyablelaugh – laughablework – workableadapt – adaptabledrink – drinkablemanage – manageable Look at these sentence examples to see how the verb becomes an adjective.We can make this… Read more757. Add -able to a Verb to Make an Adjective
In some cases, the –ing form of a verb can be used as an adjective. Look at these examples:The crying girl disrupted our class.The barking dog woke me from a sound sleep.Mike jumped out of the path of the speeding… Read more758. Add -ing to Some Verbs to Make Adjectives
The word not is always placed next to the verb in a sentence, and people often think that the word is part of the verb. Dan could not open the bottle. However, the word not is actually an adverb. It… Read more831. The Word Not is an Adverb
A contraction is a word that has been shortened from two words into one. we are = we’re We are late for school.We’re late for school.Anytime you shorten we are to we’re, you must insert an apostrophe where a letter… Read more841. Contraction Confusion: we’re and were