EN - English Grammar for the Utterly Confused.pdf

4ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR THE UTTERLY CONFUSEDGet StartedEnglish is a very flexible language. A word’s meaning is derived not only fromhow it is spelled and pronounced but also from how it is used in a sentence. Asyou review the parts of speech, remember that the way a word is used in a sentencedetermines which part of speech it is. For example:Noun: I ate a fish for dinner.Verb: We fish in the lake on every Tuesday.AdjectivesAdjectives are words that describe nouns and pronouns. Adjectives answer the questions:What kind? How much? Which one? How many? For example:What kind? red nose gold ringHow much? more sugar little effortWhich one? second chance those chocolatesHow many? several chances six booksThere are five kinds of adjectives: common adjectives, proper adjectives, compound adjectives,articles, and indefinite adjectives.1. Common adjectives describe nouns or pronouns.strong mangreen plantbeautiful view2. Proper adjectives are formed from proper nouns.California vegetables (from the noun “California”)Mexican food (from the noun “Mexico”)3. Compound adjectives are made up of more than one word.far-off countryteenage person4. Articles are a special type of adjective. There are three articles: a, an, the.The is called a “definite article” because it refers to a specific thing.A and an are called “indefinite articles” because they refer to general things. Use a withconsonant sounds; use an before vowel sounds.