SYNTAX

• Syntax is the set of rules, principles, and processes that govern the structure of sentences in any
given language. It involves how words are arranged to create meaningful sentences. Syntax
focuses on:
Sentence Structure: The order in which words are arranged.
Phrase Structure: The way different types of words (nouns, verbs, etc.) combine to form phrases.
Clause Structure: How phrases are organized to form clauses and sentences
EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH
NOMINALS (Nouns & Pronouns)
× The term "nominal" comes from the Latin word nomen, meaning name. Nominals function as
naming elements in a sentence, identifying people, places, things, or ideas. Both nouns and
pronouns are grouped under nominals because they serve the purpose of naming or representing
something.
NOUN
• A noun is a word used to identify any class of people, places, things, or ideas.
TYPES OF NOUN
Common Nouns: General names of people, places, things, or ideas (e.g., cat, city, happiness).
Proper Nouns: Specific names of people, places, or things and always capitalized (e.g., John,
Paris, Microsoft).
Concrete Nouns: Nouns that represent tangible items (e.g., book, apple, car).
Abstract Nouns: Nouns that represent intangible ideas (e.g., love, freedom, justice).
Countable Nouns: Nouns that can be counted (e.g., apple → apples).
Uncountable Nouns: Nouns that cannot be counted individually (e.g., water, music).
Collective Nouns: Words that represent groups (e.g., team, flock).
PRONOUN
• Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns to avoid repetition.
TYPES OF PRONOUN
Personal Pronouns: Represent specific people or things (e.g., I, you, he, she, it, we, they).
Possessive Pronouns: Indicate ownership (e.g., mine, yours, his, hers, ours).
Reflexive Pronouns: Refer back to the subject (e.g., myself, yourself).
Demonstrative Pronouns: Point to specific things (e.g., this, that, these, those).
Interrogative Pronouns: Used in questions (e.g., who, what, which).
Relative Pronouns: Link clauses or phrases (e.g., who, whom, which, that).
Indefinite Pronouns: Refer to unspecified things (e.g., someone, nobody, anything).
VERBS
• Verbs are words that express an action, occurrence, or state of being.
TYPES OF VERBS
Action Verbs: Show physical or mental actions (e.g., run, jump, think).
Linking Verbs: Connect the subject with a subject complement that describes or identifies it (e.g.,
is, seem, become).
Helping (Auxiliary) Verbs: Accompany main verbs to express tense, mood, or voice (e.g., have,
do, will).
Transitive Verbs: Require a direct object to complete their meaning (e.g., He kicked the ball).
Intransitive Verbs: Do not require a direct object (e.g., She sleeps).
TENSES
Present Tense: Expresses actions happening now (e.g., I walk).
Past Tense: Expresses actions that happened in the past (e.g., I walked).
Future Tense: Expresses actions that will happen (e.g., I will walk).
 VOICES
Active Voice: The subject performs the action (e.g., The dog bit the man).
Passive Voice: The subject receives the action (e.g., The man was bitten by the dog).
MODIFIERS (Adjectives and Adverbs)
• Modifiers are called so because they change or limit the meaning of another word by providing
additional detail.
ADJECTIVES
• Adjectives describe or modify nouns or pronouns, giving more information about them.
TYPES OF ADJECTIVES
Descriptive Adjectives: Describe qualities of a noun (e.g., beautiful, tall).
Quantitative Adjectives: Indicate quantity (e.g., some, many, few).
Demonstrative Adjectives: Point out specific nouns (e.g., this, that, these, those).
Possessive Adjectives: Show possession (e.g., my, your, his).
Interrogative Adjectives: Used in questions (e.g., which, what).
Comparative and Superlative Adjectives: Used to compare two or more nouns (e.g., taller, best).
ADVERBS
• Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, often describing how, when, where, or to what
extent something happens.
TYPES OF ADVERBS
Adverbs of Manner: Describe how an action is done (e.g., quickly, happily).
Adverbs of Time: Indicate when something happens (e.g., now, yesterday).
Adverbs of Place: Indicate where something happens (e.g., here, there).
Adverbs of Frequency: Indicate how often something happens (e.g., always, never).
Adverbs of Degree: Indicate the intensity or extent of something (e.g., very, too, enough).
PREPOSITIONS
• Prepositions show relationships between a noun or pronoun and other parts of the sentence, often
indicating direction, location, time, or manner.
TYPES OF PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions of Time: Indicate time (e.g., at, on, before).
Prepositions of Place: Indicate location (e.g., in, on, under).
Prepositions of Direction: Indicate direction or movement (e.g., to, towards, into).
CONJUNCTIONS
• Conjunctions join words, phrases, or clauses to add cohesion to sentences.
TYPES OF CONJUNCTIONS
Coordinating Conjunctions: Connect two independent clauses (e.g., and, but, or).
Subordinating Conjunctions: Connect a dependent clause to an independent clause (e.g.,
because, although,
Correlative Conjunctions: Work in pairs to connect related elements (e.g., either/or, neither/nor).
INTERJECTIONS
• Words or short phrases that express strong emotion or a sudden reaction (e.g., wow!, ouch!, oh
no!).
Function: They usually stand alone or are set off by punctuation, indicating the speaker’s
spontaneous feeling or reaction. They do not grammatically connect to the rest of the sentence.