ENGLISH NOTES
NOUNS
These are words that name things ,people, ideas, qualities ,state and places.
Examples:
Nouns can be divided into different categories.
Types of nouns
These are names of ordinary things. They include;
Some common nouns have antonyms. They include:
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These are names given to specific people, places or things. They are always used with capital letters as follows;
These are nouns naming things that can be seen and touched. The refer to:
Abstract nouns are nouns naming things one cannot see or touch.
They refer to:
These are names of things which can be counted.
They have singular and plural forms.
They can be used with articles and numerals.
f)Non-count /uncountable nouns
These are nouns of things that cannot be counted.
They cannot be used with articles such as a/an or the.
They can be used with expressions like some, a handful of, a bit of, a lot of, much .
Examples
Regular and Irregular nouns
Regular nouns are nouns are nouns that form their plural by adding s or es to their singular forms.
Examples
Desk-desks
Pen pens
Box-boxes
Buffalo-buffaloes
These are nouns that form their plural by changing their forms or certain letters.
Examples
Collective nouns
These are names of groups of people, animals or things.
They take a singular verb since each individual making up the group is seen as part of a single unit.
Examples
Compound nouns
These are nouns made up of more than one word.
They may be written as single words, two separate words, that have to be used together to give the right meaning and they may also be hyphenated.
Plurals of Compound nouns
Plurals of compound nouns are formed in various ways:
NOUN PHRASES
A noun phrase is a group of words that functions as as a noun(unit)
It may comprise of a noun, a pronoun or a noun and other words modifying it.
These modifiers may include:
Examples of noun phrases
Noun
Corruption
Poverty
John
Nouns +articles
The cow
An umbrella
A dog
Noun + demonstrative
This cow
That jug
Noun + possessive adjective
My vehicle
His book
Noun +quantifiers
Some people
Many students
Noun + numerals
Two students
Three ladies
Noun + adjective
Handsome boys
Dirty pigs
Article + adjective + noun
The lonely pig
Article + numeral + adjective
The three dirty pigs
Functions of noun phrases
A noun phrase is used as a subject if:
-it appears before the main verb
-it refers to the initiator of the action stated by the verb.
A subject complement is a word/phrase that describes/defines the subject of a sentence. They follow copular/ linking verbs. These verbs include ;am, was, are, were, been, become, appear, seen, sound and feel.
a)Direct object
A direct object is a word, phrase or clause that follows a transitive verb and answers the question ”who” or “what?”
A direct object receives the action of the of the verb.
b)Indirect object
An indirect object is a word/phrase that answers the question “to whom?” or “for whom” or for what is the action of the verb performed. Indirect object is the beneficiary/receives something or benefits from something.
CLAUSES
A clause is a group of words contain a subject and a verb(predicate)
It can form either a sentence on its own, or be part of a longer sentence.
Types of clauses
These are also called main clauses, they are clauses that can stand on their as sentences.
Examples
If two or more independent clauses are joined to make a sentence , each sentence is called a coordinating clause. This clause comprises sentences of equal importance but they work together.
Each coordinating clause is connected to the other using a coordinating conjunction(fanboys)
Examples
John likes to play football but Joseph plays volleyball.
iii) Dependent/subordinate clause
These are clauses that depend on independent clauses to be meaningful.
They do not express a complete thought and cannot stand on their own.
These clauses are used with subordinate conjunctions such as : if, although, before, while, as, until unless, despite ,since etc
Examples
Unless you read newspapers, you cannot be informed.
Although I revised well, I failed terribly.
NOUN CLAUSES
A noun clause is a subordinate clause that does the same work as that of a noun phrase.
It has a subject and a verb and may be used as a subject or an object of a sentence.
Noun clause are introduced by words such as when, that, whoever, how, where, whoever, which, who, how, why and whatever.
Examples
Types of noun clauses
What she did was seen.
Functions of noun clauses
Subject of a sentence
Object of a sentence
Complement
NOUN DERIVATIONS
Noun derivation is the process of forming nouns from other lexical categories(words) by adding affixes(prefixes, suffixes, infixes)
Nouns are formed by adding prefixes to verbs ,adjectives or nouns
Prefixes are elements added at the end of words
Examples
By adding –er
By adding –ee
Divorce-divorcee
By adding –or
By adding –ation/-ition
By adding –ment/ent
By adding –ance/ence
By adding –al
By adding –age
By adding –ery
By adding –ness
By adding –ism
By adding –ery
By adding –ity
By adding
By adding-ship
Friend-friendship
Censor-censorship
By adding –dom
By adding –ery
PRONOUNS
Pronouns are words used in place of pronouns.
Person and number
Personal pronouns are divided into three classes:
These are pronouns that refer to the person who is speaking/writing
They include:
| singular | plural |
| I | we |
| me | us |
These are pronouns that refer to person who is listening or reading.
They include:
| singular | plural |
| you | you |
These pronouns that refer to the person being spoken about.
They include:
| singular | plural |
| He/him | They/them |
| She/her | They/them |
| it | They/them |
Pronouns that refer to the doer of the action are called subject pronouns. They include:
I, we, you, he, she, it and they.
Pronouns that refer to the recipient/receiver of the action are called object pronouns. They include:
Me, us, you, him, her, it and them.
Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns are pronouns which do not refer to definite number of things or people. They refer to things in general without identifying them.
Examples
Indefinite pronouns can be categorized into:
Singular indefinite pronouns
Plural indefinite pronouns
i)singular indefinite pronouns
These are indefinite pronouns that refer to one person/thing.
Examples
Singular indefinite pronouns take singular verbs such as has, is, and says.
These are indefinite pronouns that refer to more than one person or thing.
Examples
These take plural verbs such as are, were, have
Indefinite pronouns can be made to be gender sensitive by using his/her.
Pronouns and Case
A case is different positions that pronouns take in a sentence. They can take the subject or the object position.
A pronoun is said to be in subjective case when it appears before/precedes a verb.
Examples
Pronouns used in subjective case include: I, we, you, he, she, it and they.
| Person | singular | plural |
| 1st | I | we |
| 2nd | you | you |
| 3rd | He/she | |
| it |
NB: Pronouns in subjective case are also used in comparison after than.
She is taller than he.
A pronoun is said to be in the objective case when it appears/comes after the verb or preposition.
Examples
Pronouns used in objective case are:
| Person | singular | plural |
| 1st person | me | Us |
| 2nd person | You | you |
| 3rd person | Him | |
| Her | They | |
| it |
NB: Relative pronouns also take either subjective case.
Who is used in the subjective case; it refers to the doer of the action.
Example
This man who gave me a gift.
Whom is used as an object; it refers to the recipient of the action.
It can also be used with prepositions.
Example
The student whom you sent home has returned.
ADJECTIVES
Adjectives are words that give more information about nouns. When two or more adjectives are used in a sentence, there is an order in which they should appear.
Order of Adjectives
These are adjectives that express the speaker’s opinion on something or somebody.
Examples
These are adjectives that give us factual information about a thing. They give us more information about:
When opinion and descriptive adjectives are used together in a sentence, the opinion adjectives come first. The rest then follow the order below.
Adjectival Phrases
An adjectival phrase is a group of words that does the work of an adjective/modifier/modifies/describes a noun or a pronoun.
They are of two types:
Intensifiers are words that show degree(adverbs of degree) eg very, too, so, enough, completely, entirely, really.
Examples
When a prepositional phrase is used as a modifier of a noun/pronoun, it is also called adjectival phrase.
Examples
Adjectival Clause
These are clauses that give more information about nouns or pronouns.
They are introduced by relative pronouns- who, which, that, whom, whose, whichever, whatever.
Who, whom- people
That- ————-things
That, which—–things and animals
Whose————possessives
Types of adjectival clauses
These clauses tell us exactly which person or thing the speaker is referring to;
The person who built that church has died.
Rukia works for a firm that repairs mobile phones.
The man whom I was speaking to is my neighbour.
Are adjectival clauses that give additional information about the subject.
They are separated from the main clause by commas.
Only who and which are used and cannot be omitted.
Examples
Mandela, who is the first black president of South Africa, won the Nobel Peace prize.
NB; A non- defining adjectival clause is only used to give additional information and can be left out without affecting the meaning of the main sentence.
Adjectival clauses reduced to phrases
Participles as adjectival clauses
The verb in the relative clause can be replaced
Formation of adjectives
Adjectives are formed by adding suffixes to nouns.
Some of these include:
-able; manageable, desirable,
-less; relentless,
-ful; relentful
-ive; active, preventive
-ious; rebellious, envious, marvelous
VERBS
Primary Auxiliary Verbs
Auxiliary verbs are verbs that can be used as main verbs and helping verbs in sentences.
Forms of primary auxiliary verbs
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Functions of primary auxiliary verbs
Simple present tense
Past tense
Perfective aspect
Progressive aspect
Primary auxiliary verbs change their forms depending on whether the subject is singular or plural. When the subject is singular, the auxiliary verb used is singular.
VERB PHRASES
This is part of a sentence that indicates the action or state.
It may comprise of a verb, two or more helping verbs and one main verb or a helping verb an adverb and the main verb.
ASPECT
The continuous aspect/progressive aspect
The progressive aspect is used to show that an action is continuing or is in progress.
It can be used with past tense, present tense and future tense.
Present continuous aspect
The present continuous aspect is used when talking about an action or a feeling which is still going on.
The aspect is formed by using the present tense of the verb ‘be’- am, are, is and adding -ing to the main verb
Examples
Agree-agreeing
NB: The present continuous aspect is also used to explain the future arrangement that have already been made
My mother is flying to Garisa next month.
Robert is completing his studies in November.
Future Time
Future time refers to the time that will come after the moment of speech. It can be expressed in various ways.
Simple present tense is used to express future when talking about timetables or programmes.
Examples
Schools close for holidays every three months.
The bus leaves the police station at 9.00 a.m.
The BOG meeting starts at 8.00 am tomorrow.
Shall is used with the first person pronouns only (I, We)
Will is used with all classes of pronouns.
This takes the auxiliary verbs am/is/are and –ing verbs. This aspect is used to talk about future arrangement or plan.
Examples
Jane is visiting her grandmother tomorrow.
I am having a wedding next Saturday.
They are joining campus in August.
Going to is used with a verb in the infinitive to express the future.
The participle
A participle is a form of verb that is used in a sentence to play the role of other words such as nouns, adjectives other than the verb alone.
Active and Passive voice
Active voice
An active sentence is used to tell what the subject does; a sentence in which the subject is the performer of the action stated by the verb.
A n active voice has an active verb; a verb that is used with a subject and an object.
Examples
Passive voice
A passive sentence/voice is used to tell what happens to the subject. Passive verb is used to indicate the passive voice.
To change an active verb into a passive one;
The object of the active sentence takes the position of the subject.
The verb changes into the past participle and is used with auxiliary verbs(am, are, was, were, is)
| ASPECT | ACTIVE VOICE | PASSIVE VOICE |
| Simple present | He kills a rat. | A rat was killed |
| Present perfect | He has killed a rat. | A rat has been killed. |
| Present contin. | He is killing a rat | A rat is being killed. |
| Simple past | He killed a rat. | A rat was killed. |
| Past perfect | He had killed a rat | A rat had been killed. |
| Past continuous | He was killing a rat. | A rat was being killed. |
| Simple future | He will kill a rat. | A rat will be killed. |
| Future perfect | He will have killed a rat | A rat will have been killed. |
| Future continuous | He will be killing a rat. | A rat will be being killed. |
The original subject (doer) is sometimes omitted when the sentence is changed into passive voice.
Active and passive voice can be used with modal auxiliary verbs; can, may, should, ought.
A cat kills a rat.
Passive voice used with ditransitive verbs
A ditransitive verb is one used with two objects;
When an active sentence has two objects, two passive sentences can be derived.
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
Transitive verbs
These are verbs that are followed direct objects. The object follows the verb immediately; there is no preposition between them.
Examples
Some transitive verbs take more than one object; a direct object and indirect object. They are called ditransitive verbs.
Examples
The object that follows the verb immediately is called indirect object and it answers the question ‘for whom’ or ‘to whom’ while the last object is called direct object. The direct object may follow the verb immediately if the indirect object is used with a preposition e.g.
Transitive verbs take both passive and active voice.
Intransitive verbs
These are verbs that do not require direct objects. They may be followed by adverbs or prepositional phrases.
Examples
NB: Some verbs can be used both transitively and intransitively based on how they have been used.
Examples
The Infinitives
The infinitive is formed by use of ‘to’ followed by the root or bare form of a verb.
Examples
The infinitive can be used as a verb, a noun, an adjective or an adverb.
As a noun
The to infinitive ca act as a subject, a direct object or a subject complement.
Examples
As an adjective
The infinitive functions as an adjective if it modifies a noun.
As an adverb
The infinitive functions as an adverb if it modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb.
Types of participle
This is formed by adding –ing suffix to the infinitive/base form of a word
Examples
Functions of the present participle
As a verb
The –ing participle is used with the past, present and future tense to show a progressive aspect. It is used with auxiliary verbs like is, was, are, were, am, be
Examples
As an adjective
The –ing participle can be used to give more information about a noun or pronoun. Used as an adjective, the participle can be placed in front of the noun it modifies or after a linking/copular verb like is, was are, were.
Examples
As a noun
The –ing participle can function as a noun, a subject, indirect object. When used as a noun, it is called a gerund.
Examples
This is formed by adding -ed/d/en/t to the infinitives
Example
Function of the past participle
As a verb
The past participle is used with auxiliary verbs such as has, have or had to indicate the perfect aspect.
Phrasal verb
A phrasal verb is a multi-word verb that consists of a verb with a preposition or an adverb or both. The meaning of the phrasal verb is different from the meaning of its separate parts.
Phrasal verbs may consist of two or three words.
Examples
Phrasal verbs may consist of two or three words.
Examples
Two words
Three words
In some phrasal verbs, the object may come after or may separate the two parts. These include
NB: When the object of the following phrasal verb is a person, the two parts of the phrasal verb must be separated.
They called off this afternoons meeting.
They called this afternoons meeting off.
Some phrasal verbs cannot be separated.
Phrasal verbs can be used transitively or intransitively.
Idiomatic expression
Idioms are expressions whose meaning is difficult or sometimes impossible to guess by looking at the meaning of the individual word it contains.
Phrasal verb
A phrasal verb is a multi-word verb that consists of a verb with a preposition or an adverb or both. The meaning of the phrasal verb is different from the meaning of its separate parts.
Phrasal verbs may consist of two or three words.
Examples
Phrasal verbs may consist of two or three words.
Examples
Two words
Three words
In some phrasal verbs, the object may come after or may separate the two parts. These include
NB: When the object of the following phrasal verb is a person, the two parts of the phrasal verb must be separated.
They called off this afternoons meeting.
They called this afternoons meeting off.
Some phrasal verbs cannot be separated.
Phrasal verbs can be used transitively or intransitively.
Idiomatic expression
Idioms are expressions whose meaning is difficult or sometimes impossible to guess by looking at the meaning of the individual word it contains.
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