Introduction
Grammar is a very old field of study. Did you know that the
sentence was first divided into subject and verb by Plato,
the famed philosopher from ancient Greece? That was
about 2,400 years ago! Ever since then, students all over
the world have found it worthwhile to study the structure
of words and sentences. Why? Because skill in speaking
and writing is the hallmark of all educated people.
Lesson by lesson, this book provides basic instruction
in the eight parts of speech—nouns, pronouns, verbs,
adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and
interjections—as well as the standard patterns of English
sentences.
All students of English, be they native speakers or those
who are studying English as a second language, will
profit from the fundamental introduction and review of
grammar provided by SADDLEBACK’S BASIC ENGLISH
GRAMMAR 1 and 2. Helpful marginal notes throughout
the books have been provided to reinforce existing skills
and call attention to common problem areas.
We wish you every success in your pursuit of English
proficiency.
1 What is Grammar? 5
2 The Capital Letter 6
3 Nouns 8
Common Nouns 8
Proper Nouns 13
Singular Nouns 21
Plural Nouns 23
Collective Nouns 34
Masculine and Feminine Nouns 37
4 Pronouns 44
Personal Pronouns 44
Reflexive Pronouns 47
Interrogative Pronouns 48
Demonstrative Pronouns 49
5 Adjectives 52
Adjective Endings 54
Kinds of Adjectives 58
Comparison of Adjectives 65
6 Determiners 71
The Articles 71
Demonstrative Determiners 73
Interrogative Determiners 74
Possessive Determiners 75
13 Sentences 139
What is a Sentence? 139
Kinds of Sentences 140
The Imperative 141
The Subject and the Object 143
Direct and Indirect Objects 144
Positive and Negative Sentences 146
Questions 147
8 Subject-Verb Agreement 123
9 Adverbs 127
10 Prepositions 132
11 Conjunctions 135
12 Interjections 138
14 Punctuation 150
Period 150
Comma 151
Exclamation Point 152
Question Mark 152
Apostrophe 153
7 Verbs and Tenses 79
The Simple Present Tense 80
Am, Is and Are 83
The Present Progressive Tense 89
Have and Has 93
The Present Perfect Tense 96
The Simple Past Tense 98
Regular and Irregular Verbs 99
Was and Were 104
The Past Progressive Tense 106
The Future Tense 108
Can and Could 112
May and Might 113
Do, Does and Did 115
Would and Should 120
Here’s an old children’s rhyme about the eight parts of
speech of English grammar. It gives you an idea of what
grammar is about. Read and remember it.
Every name is called a noun,
As field and fountain, street and town.
In place of noun the pronoun stands,
As he and she can clap their hands.
The adjective describes a thing,
As magic wand or bridal ring.
Most verbs mean action, something done,
To read and write, to jump and run.
How things are done the adverbs tell,
As quickly, slowly, badly, well.
The preposition shows relation,
As in the street or at the station.
Conjunctions join, in many ways,
Sentences, words, or phrase and phrase.
The interjection cries out, “Heed!
An exclamation point must
follow me!”
1 What is Grammar?
Noun
Pronoun
Verb
Adjective
Noun
Preposition
Adverb
Interjection
Conjunction
The capital letter is also called a big letter or upper-
case letter, or sometimes just a capital.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
When do you use a capital letter?
4 Use a capital letter for the first letter in a
sentence:
The dog is barking.
Come here!
4 Always use a capital letter for the word :
am eight years old.
Tom and are good friends.
4 Use a capital letter for the names of people:
Alice, Tom, James, Kim, Snow White
4 Use a capital letter for the names of places:
National Museum, Bronx Zoo, London, Sacramento
4 Use a capital letter for festivals, holidays,
days of the week, months of the year:
New Year’s Day, Christmas, Labor Day, Mother’s Day,
Sunday, Monday, Friday, January, May, July, October
I
2 The Capital Letter
Exercise 1
Circle the letters that should be CAPITALS. Then write
the correct letter in the space above them.
1 peter and i are good friends.
2 we are going to chicago during our summer
vacation.
3 there is an interesting football game on sunday.
4 jason lives on thomson avenue.
5 january is the first month of the year.
Exercise 2
Look at the signs on the left. Can you find the
mistakes? Write the names correctly.
hopkins hotel lincoln school
orchard street newton road
botanic gardens national library
shea stadium
Word File
Nouns are divided into common nouns and proper nouns.
Common nouns are words for people, animals, places,
or things.
These are words for people. They are common nouns.
artist
acrobat clown
Another word for astronaut is
spaceman or spacewoman.
Here are more words for people:
actor lawyer
aunt judge
baby man
baker nurse
cook police officer
dentist singer
doctor soldier
giant teacher
Common Nouns
3 Nouns
astronaut
D i d y o u k n o w ?
These are words for animals. They are common nouns.
bird
crocodile
deer
Here are more words for animals:
cat goose
cow hen
dog horse
dolphin mouse
duck parrot
fish shark
goat whale
zebra
eagle
bear
These are words for places. They are common nouns.
shop
beach
park
library
Here are more words for places:
airport market
cave mountain
church playground
farm restaurant
hill school
hospital seashore
hotel stadium
house supermarket
island temple
mall zoo
These are words for things. They are common nouns.
basket
bed
cake
drum
blanket
gate
Here are more words for things:
bag kite
box ladder
bread lamp
can picture
chair radio
cot television
cup train
desk truck
door watch
egg window
Exercise 1
Underline the common nouns in these sentences.
1 There’s a little bird in the garden.
2 Who is your teacher?
3 Don’t eat that rotten apple.
4 Kate has a lovely doll.
5 I like reading stories.
6 My father is a doctor.
7 Every child has a dictionary.
8 Rudy hates bananas.
9 The phone is ringing.
10 Here’s a book for you.
Exercise 2
Here’s a mixed bag of words. Put each word under its
correct heading.
swimmer snail fire engine clown
letters flag river barber
mountain fox hotel parrot
granny taxi gardener camel
People Animals Places Things
Proper nouns are names for particular people, places or
things. They always begin with a capital letter.
Your own name and the names
of your friends are proper
nouns too.
Beethoven
Omar
Lisa
Santa Claus
Proper Nouns
Here are some more names
of people:
Ali Baba
Florence Nightingale
Derek Jeter
Pauline
Johnny Depp
Patrick
Harry Potter
Pinocchio
Robin Hood
Kim Lee
D i d y o u k n o w ?
The names of countries and their people are also
proper nouns.
Country People Country People
America Americans Korea Koreans
Egypt Egyptians Malaysia Malaysians
India Indians Pakistan Pakistanis
Italy Italians France the French
Japan the Japanese Thailand Thais
American Egyptian Indian Italian Thai
Japanese Korean Malay Filipino Pakistani
The names of towns, cities, buildings and landmarks
are proper nouns.
Hong Kong
the Great Wall of China
the Statue of Liberty
Egypt
Tokyo Sydney
Bangkok New Delhi
London Denver the Grand Canyon
New York Central Park the Leaning Tower of Pisa
Paris the Eiffel Tower Brooklyn Bridge
Beijing Big Ben Pike’s Peak
January is the first month of the year.
Sunday is the first day of the week.
A table that shows the months, weeks and
days
Months
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Days
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
January February March April
August July
May June
December
October November September
D i d y o u k n o w ?
17
The names of mountains, seas, rivers and lakes are
proper nouns.
Mount Everest
Niagara Falls
the Thames
Lake Michigan
the Alps the Himalayas
the Dead Sea the Pacific Ocean
Mount Fuji the Yellow River
You often use the before names of oceans,
rivers, seas and ranges of mountains.
Mount means mountain.
It is often used in the names of mountains.
For example: Mount Everest
Mount St. Helens
The written short form for Mount is Mt.
For example: Mt. Everest, Mt. Fuji
D i d y o u k n o w ?
The names of festivals, some special events and holidays
are proper nouns, too.
Valentine’s Day
Father’s Day
Halloween
New Year’s Day
Word File
Here are more names of festivals and holidays:
Christmas Mother’s Day
Memorial Day April Fool’s Day
Labor Day Thanksgiving Day
Independence Day St. Patrick’s Day
Exercise 1
Underline the proper nouns in the following
sentences.
1 July is often the hottest month in summer.
2 One day Ali Baba saw the forty thieves hiding in a
cave.
3 Shawn and Ashley are going to the beach for a swim.
4 Mr. Lee is reading a book.
5 “I am your fairy godmother,” said the old woman to
Cinderella.
6 Uncle Mike is a lawyer.
7 Next Tuesday is a public holiday.
8 Many children enjoyed the movie Lion King.
Exercise 2
Look at the words in the box. Which ones are common
nouns and which ones are proper nouns? Put each word
under its correct heading.
Lisa bank President Hotel United Bank
January beach White Sand Beach hotel
doctor month Dr. Wang girl
Common Nouns Proper Nouns
Exercise 3
Write C for common or P for proper on the blank
before each noun.
1 ______ the White House
2 ______ the green dress
3 ______ the tall building
4 ______ the Empire State Building
5 ______ the Yellow River
6 ______ the muddy river
7 ______ the governor
8 ______ Governor Parker
9 ______ the Oregon Trail
10 ______ the winding trail
Exercise 4
Underline the nouns that should be capitalized. Circle the
nouns that should not be capitalized.
1 Robert louis Stevenson wrote treasure island.
2 The Capital of illinois is Springfield.
3 My Friends and I prefer Glittergums toothpaste.
4 Their Family visited Yellowstone national Park.
5 Juan and maria attend kennedy Middle school.
6 We had a Surprise Party for aunt Helen.
7 Spring and Fall are my favorite Seasons.
8 The Manager scolded his lazy Employees.
Nouns can be singular or plural. When you are talking
about one person, animal, place, or thing, use a singular
noun.
These are also singular nouns:
an airplane a letter
a bicycle a map
a boy a photograph
a bus a refrigerator
a comb a slide
a girl a swing
a key a van
Singular Nouns
an owl
a flower
a woman
a ship
a train
Grammar Help
4 Use a or an before singular nouns.
Use an before words beginning with vowels
(a, e, i, o, u). For example, say:
an axe an igloo
an egg an orange
an envelope an umbrella
an ice cream an uncle
4 But some words don’t follow this rule. For example,
use a (not an) before these words that begin with u:
a uniform a university
4 Use a before words beginning with the other
letters of the alphabet, called consonants.
For example, say:
a basket a rainbow
a bowl a monster
a car a pillow
a hill a watch
a house a zoo
4 But some words don’t follow this rule. For example,
use an (not a) before these words that begin with h:
an heir
an honor
an hour
When you are talking about two or more people,
animals, places, or things, use plural nouns.
Most nouns are made plural by adding -s at the end.
mug
bats
mugs
fan
fans
cap
caps
star
stars
Singular Plural
bird birds
broom brooms
camel camels
desk desks
doll dolls
egg eggs
flower flowers
fork forks
game games
lamb lambs
nest nests
pen pens
photo photos
shirt shirts
spoon spoons
Plural Nouns
bat
Grammar Help
Some plural nouns end in -es.
When the last letters of singular
nouns are ch, sh, s, ss or x,
you usually add -es to form
the plural.
buses
fox
brushes
bus brush
foxes
Singular Plural
beach beaches
branch branches
box boxes
bush bushes
church churches
dish dishes
dress dresses
sandwich sandwiches
witch witches
watches
watch
glass
glasses
+ ch
sh
s
ss
x
es
Grammar Help
Some plural nouns end in -ies.
Nouns like these are made
plural by changing y to i, and
adding -es.
butterfly
butterflies
canary
canaries
candy
candies
lily
lilies
Singular Plural
baby babies
cherry cherries
diary diaries
dictionary dictionaries
fairy fairies
family families
fly flies
lady ladies
library libraries
puppy puppies
story stories
strawberry strawberries
+
es
i
y
What if there is a vowel before the y?
In that case, add -s to form the plural.
key
keys
tray
trays
Singular Plural
chimney chimneys
cowboy cowboys
day days
donkey donkeys
jersey jerseys
kidney kidneys
monkey monkeys
toy toys
trolley trolleys
valley valleys
turkey
turkeys
y s
Grammar Help
Often nouns that end in -f, just
need -s to form the plural.
Singular Plural Singular Plural
chef chefs handkerchief handkerchiefs
chief chiefs roof roofs
cliff cliffs sheriff sheriffs
For some words that end in -f, the plural can be spelled
in two different ways.
Singular Plural
dwarf dwarfs or dwarves
hoof hoofs or hooves
scarf scarfs or scarves
But you only add -s to giraffe to form the
plural.
If a noun ends in -f, you often change f to v, and add -es.
Singular Plural
knife knives
life lives
wife wives
Singular Plural Singular Plural
calf calves loaf loaves
elf elves shelf shelves
half halves thief thieves
leaf leaves wolf wolves
With some words that end in -fe, you change f to v, and add -s.
v e s
v es f
f s
s
ves
f
D i d y o u k n o w ?
Grammar Help
If a noun ends in -o, you just add -s to form the plural.
Singular Plural
a hippo hippos
a video videos
a zoo zoos
But with some nouns that end in -o, you add -es to form
the plural.
Singular Plural
a tomato tomatoes
a potato potatoes
a hero heroes
a rhino rhinos
a kangaroo kangaroos
a flamingo
flamingoes
With some nouns that end in -o, you can add
either -s or -es to form the plural.
Singular Plural Plural
a mango mangoes mangos
a mosquito mosquitoes mosquitos
a zero zeroes zeros
a buffalo buffaloes buffalos
Some plural nouns don’t follow the -s rule. They don’t end in
-s, -es, -ies or -ves. Instead, the word changes form.
The plural of the mouse that you
use with your computer is either
mice or mouses.
foot feet
goose geese
mouse mice
Singular Plural
child children
man men
ox oxen
tooth teeth
woman women
D i d y o u k n o w ?
Some plural nouns are the same as the singular noun.
sheep
You can use fishes as the plural of
fish when you are talking about
different kinds of fish: all the fishes
of the Pacific Ocean.
fish
fish
reindeer reindeer
Singular Plural
bison bison
deer deer
sheep
D i d y o u k n o w ?
Grammar Help
Some nouns are always plural.
Another word for spectacles
is glasses.
binoculars
goggles
jeans
pliers
You can make these plural nouns singular by
using a pair of:
a pair of binoculars
a pair of spectacles
a pair of goggles
a pair of jeans
a pair of shorts
a pair of pliers
pants scissors
pajamas sneakers
shorts slippers
trousers stockings
sandals
a pair of shoes
spectacles
Singular Plural Singular Plural
1 desk 6 basket ___________
2 class 7 peach ___________
3 comb 8 belt ___________
4 mug 9 taxi ___________
5 bus 10 box ___________
Exercise 1
Look at the words below. Do you know which ones
are singular and which are plural? Put a checkmark
(✓) in the correct box.
Singular Plural
word
pencils
books
fan
hat
children
kites
people
crab
foxes
Exercise 2
Do you add -s or -es to these singular nouns to make
them plural? Write your answers on the lines.
Exercise 3
Do you change -y to -ies, or just add -s to make
these singular nouns plural? Write your anwers.
Singular Plural Singular Plural
1 key 6 toy
2 city 7 baby
3 butterfly 8 party
4 monkey 9 chimney
5 fly 10 lady
Exercise 4
All these singular nouns end with -o. Add either -s or -es
as you write the plurals on the line.
Singular Plural Singular Plural
1 video 6 radio
2 piano 7 hippo
3 mango 8 zoo
4 kangaroo 9 zero
5 rhino 10 photo
Grammar Help
Collective nouns are words for groups of people,
animals or things.
These are nouns for groups of people.
Many collective nouns can be used with a
singular or plural verb.
For example:
My family was happy to see me.
or
My family were happy to see me.
Collective Nouns
an orchestra
a family
a crew
Here are some more groups
of people:
an audience a gang
a band a group
a choir a team
a class
But the following collective nouns always take a plural verb:
cattle people the police
Here are more collective nouns that are used for groups
of people, animals or things.
a band of musicians
a brood of chickens
a flight of steps
a school of fish
a team of players
Here are some more
collective nouns:
a bunch of keys
a class of pupils
a collection of books
a deck of cards
a fleet of ships
a flock of sheep
a gaggle of geese
a gang of robbers
a herd of cattle
a litter of cubs
a pod of whales
a pack of wolves
a pride of lions
a set of stamps
a swarm of bees
a troupe of actors
Exercise
Farmer John had several different kinds of animals
on his farm. Write the correct collective noun for
each group of his animals.
Farmer John had:
a of geese
a of sheep
a of cattle
a of horses
One day a of coyotes tried to attack his animals.
Farmer John yelled and waved a pitchfork to frighten them
away.
Masculine nouns are words for men and boys, and
male animals.
Feminine nouns are words for women and girls, and
female animals.
lion
lioness
Masculine and Feminine Nouns
Masculine Feminine
boy girl
man woman
prince princess
steward stewardess
waiter waitress
bride bridegroom
hen
rooster
king queen
Here are some more masculine and feminine nouns for
people.
actor actress
brother sister
emperor empress
father mother
gentleman lady
grandfather grandmother
grandson granddaughter
headmaster headmistress
man woman
master mistress
nephew niece
prince princess
son daughter
steward stewardess
uncle aunt
wizard witch
Feminine
Masculine nouns belong to the
masculine gender.
Feminine nouns belong to the
feminine gender.
Masculine
chicken rooster hen
cattle bull cow
deer buck doe
donkey jack jenny
duck drake duck
fox fox vixen
goose gander goose
horse stallion mare
lion lion lioness
sheep ram ewe
tiger tiger tigress
Here are some masculine and feminine nouns for male
and female animals.
Animal Male Female
Nouns that end in -ess and -ress often belong
to the feminine gender. For example:
actress stewardess
lioness tigress
princess waitress
Grammar Help
Many nouns are used for both males and females.
We call these nouns common-gender nouns.
dancers
doctors
hairdressers
scientists
Nouns like these are used for
both males and females:
accountants parents
artists managers
designers pupils
engineers singers
lawyers teachers
Words for things that are neither male nor female are
called neuter nouns.
bench
leaves
mirror
fire
waterfall
Here are some neuter nouns:
ball forest
building gymnasium
broom playground
cake rock
computer sky
card socks
floor wind
Word File
We call these nouns common-gender nouns.
Exercise 1
Fill in the blanks with the correct masculine or
feminine nouns.
Masculine Feminine
1 master
2 uncle
3 niece
4 lioness
5 tiger
6 empress
7 husband
8 son
9 mother
10 madam
Exercise 2
Fill in each blank with a suitable masculine or feminine
noun.
1 The host and the ____________ welcomed their guests.
2 The steward and the ____________ look after the
passengers on the plane.
3 My uncle and ________ lived in Nebraska.
4 The king and the _________ had two children, a boy
and a ________. The prince was eight and the
_____________ was five.
5 Ladies and ______________ , welcome to our party this
evening.
Exercise 3
Look at the words in the box. Write each word under
its correct heading.
children sun witch king
boy son father girl
mother queen file teacher
lamp doctor dancer wizard
ram rooster elf fish
Masculine Feminine Common Gender Neuter
Baby birds cannot fly.
Mother bird has to feed them.
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a common
noun or a proper noun. There are different kinds of pronouns.
The words I, you, he, she, it, we and they are called
personal pronouns. They take the place of nouns and
are used as the subject of the verb in a sentence.
Grammar Help
The subject of a sentence is the person, animal,
place or thing that does the action shown by the
verb.
Personal Pronouns
My name is David. I am the youngest in the family.
This is my father. He is a teacher.
This is my mother. She is a lawyer.
I have a brother and two sisters.
They are Peter, Sharon and Jenny.
I have a dog. It is called Lucky.
Lucky, you are a good dog.
Good morning, children! You may sit down now.
My family and I live in a big city. We have an apartment.
4 Pronouns
The words me, you, him, her, it, us and them are also
personal pronouns. They also take the place of nouns.
These pronouns are used as the object of the verb in a
sentence.
Grammar Help
The object of a sentence is the person, animal,
place or thing that receives the action shown by
the verb.
I am standing on my head. Look at me.
My mother is kind. Everybody likes her.
Lisa, I told you to tidy your bed!
Sharon and Jenny! Dad is waiting for you!
Lucky and I are playing in the park. Dad is watching us.
You must not play with the knife. Give it to me.
Pick up your toys and put them away.
Baby birds cannot fly.
Mother bird has to feed them.
Tom likes riding my bicycle.
I sometimes lend it to him.
Grammar Help
There are three groups of pronouns: first person,
second person and third person.
The person speaking is called the first person.
The first-person pronouns are I or me (in the singular) and
we or us (in the plural).
The person spoken to is called the second person. The
second-person pronoun is you (in both singular and plural).
The person (or animal, or thing) spoken about is called the
third person. The third-person pronouns are he or him, she or
her, and it (in the singular), and they or them (in the plural).
The word I is always spelled with a capital letter.
The pronoun he is used for men and boys, she for
women and girls, and it for things and animals.
Here is a table to help you.
Subject Object
First person singular I me
Second person singular you you
Third person singular he him
she her
it it
First person plural we us
Second person plural you you
Third person plural they them
The words myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself,
ourselves, yourselves and themselves are called
reflexive pronouns.
They refer to the person or animal that is the subject of
the verb.
Grammar Help
Reflexive Pronouns
I made this cake myself.
Be careful with the knife. You’ll cut yourself.
Michael is looking at himself in the mirror.
Susan has hurt herself.
Our cat washes itself after each meal.
We organized the party all by ourselves.
Come in, children, and find yourselves a seat.
Baby birds are too young to look after themselves.
Here is a table to remind you about reflexive
pronouns.
Singular Plural
First person (I,me) myself (we,us) ourselves
Second person (you) yourself (you) yourselves
Third person (he, him) himself (they, them) themselves
(she, her) herself (they, them) themselves
(it) itself (they, them) themselves
Grammar Help
The words who, whom, whose, what and which are
called interrogative pronouns.
These pronouns are used to ask questions.
Who can be used as the object of a verb as well
as the subject.
Whom is used only as the object. For example,
you can say:
Who are you playing with?
or
Whom are you playing with?
Interrogative Pronouns
Whom
What
Who
Who is he talking to?
Who are those people?
Whom are you playing with?
Whom is he talking to?
What is your dog’s name?
What are you talking about?
What is the time?
Which
Which of these bags is yours?
Which do you prefer?
Whose
Whose is this umbrella?
Whose are these gloves?
Grammar Help
Demonstrative Pronouns
The words this, these, that and those are called
demonstrative pronouns. They are showing words.
That is John’s house.
That is a mountain.
Those are horses.
What are those?
We can do better
than that.
No, that’s not mine.
You mean you won?
That’s amazing!
Hello, who is that
speaking, please?
Hello, is that you,
George?
This is my house.
This is a hill.
These are donkeys.
What is this?
Did you drop this?
Hi, Jane! This is Michael!
You use this and these when you point to things
near you.
You use that and those when you point to things
farther away.
Demonstrative pronouns can be singular or plural:
Singular Plural
this these
that those
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