Lesson 7: Clause Modifiers | Easy English Subject

A clause modifier may be adjectival or adverbial depending on the word it modifies.



*A clause which modifies a noun or which belongs to a noun cluster is an adjectival clause. It is often introduced by the conjunctions who, that, which.



The conjunction who always refer to persons, places, or things. The conjunction which never refers to persons; it refers only to obkexts or animals.



Note the use of who, that, and which in the following:

1. The girl who (that) is speaking is my sister.
2. The dog that (which) is barking is mine.
3. The book that (which) she is reading is mine.



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Lesson 6: Verb Clusters | Easy English Subject

Verb Clusters are similar to noun clusters. They are composed of a headword which is a verb plus word, phrase, or clause modifiers.


A verb cluster is a group of words in which the principal word is a verb.

Examples:

1. He spoke eloquently. (word modifier-word verb cluster)
2. He spoke with great eloquence. (phrase modifier-phrase verb cluster)
3 . He spoke when he was moved to speak. (clause modifier-clause verb cluster)


All these modifiers refer to spoke and form verb clusters. Note the position of pretty and tall, gracefully and very well in the following sentences:

1. The pretty girl danced gracefully.
2. The tall boy spoke very well.



Pretty and tall come before girl and boy, respectively. They are adjectives denoting quality. Gracefully and very well come after danced and spoke, respectively. They are adverbs denoting manner.



The modifying word or phrase in a verb cluster may denote a place or tell where.

Examples:

1. He went there. (word)
2. He hid under the table. (phrase)


The modifying word or phrase may denote time or express when.

Examples:

1. He came yesterday. (word)
2. He came in the morning. (phrase)


The modifying word or phrase may denote manner or tell how.

Examples:

1. He walks fast. (word)
2. He works with great energy. (phrase)



Word and phrase modifiers may be found after the head verb or after the object.

Examples:

1. He speaks very politely.
2. He takes his lunch at the cafeteria.


Expressions of place come before expressions of time.

Examples:

He eats here (place) at twelve o'clock. (time)



Frequency adverbs, such as often, never, usually, seldom, generally, and the like, come after forms of the verb to be; but they come before other verbs and between verb phrases.

Examples:

1. She is never late.
2. She never comes late.
3. She has never come late.



Expressions of manner generally come after expressions of place but not afyer expressions of time.

Examples:

He came here walking last night.



Next Lesson 》Clause Modifiers | Lesson 7 》



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Lesson 5: Word and Phrase Modifiers | Easy English Subject

We have so far studied the basic pattern of sentences in English. We have seen how sentences may be expanded by adding modifiers. Modifiers may be words, phrases, or clauses. Modifiers may be added to nouns. When this is done, such a group of words is called a noun cluster.



A noun cluster is a group of words in which the principal word (headword) is a noun. The words found next to the noun are its modifiers. The modifiers may be words, phrases, or clauses.

Example:

The tall, lovely lady on my left, who is about to sing, is a movie personality.



The headword (head noun) is lady. Tall and lovely are word modifiers of the noun. With the noun they form a word noun cluster.

On my left is the phrase modifier of the noun. With the noun it forms a phrase noun cluster.

Who is about to sing is the clause modifier of the noun. With the noun it forms a clause noun modifier.

All these modifiers refer to lady and describe the noun lady.




Word modifiers com before the nouns they modify. Observe the position of graceful, hardworking, responsible, and beautiful in the following sentences.

1. The graceful dancers waved to us.
2. The hardworking employees stayed behind.
3. Teachers like responsible students.
4. We admire beautiful flowers.

Graceful and hardworking (called adjectives) are placed before the nouns dancers and employees in the subject position. The adjectives responsible and beautiful are placed before the nouns students and flowers in the object position.



A noun may give information about another noun and thus form a word noun cluster.

Examples:

1. The school bus is late.
2. That is a stone fence.
3. They enjoyed a pleasant home life.



If word modifiers in a series from a noun cluster, they are arranged in a specific manner: determiners-intensifiers-quality-shape-color-another noun-headword noun.



Study the following examples of word modifiers forming a noun cluster.

1. Determiners

     - a dozen
     - the
     - a

2. Intensifiers

     - very
     - rather
     - somewhat

3. Quality

     - pretty
     - bold
     - strict

4. Shape

     - tiny
     - little

5. Color

     - blue

6. Another noun

     - city
     - school

7. Headword noun

     - flowers
     - girl
     - teacher




A phrase modifier comes after the noun it modifies. Phrase noun modifiers are of three kinds: prepositional, infinitive, and participial.



A prepositional phrase is a group of two or more words of which the first word is a preposition abd the last word is a noun.

Example:

The flowers in the vase are lovely.
                          P-phrase
The symbol for the prepositional phrase is P-phrase.



An infinitive phrase is a group of two or more words of which the first word is the preposition to and the last word is a verb.

Example:

The work to be done seems interesting.
                       To - V
The symbol for the infinitive phrase is To - V.


A participial phrase is a group of two or more words beginning with a participle. A participle is a verb + ing (e.g., cry + ing, stay + ing, talk + ing).

Example:

A girl wearing a new dress walked in.
             V - ing
The symbolbfor forthe participial phrase is V-ing.



Next Lesson 》Verb Cluster | Lesson 6



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Lesson 4: Kinds of Sentences | Easy English Subject

There are four general kinds of sentences: declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory.



The declarative sentence states a fact. A period ends a declarative sentence.

Example:

We all want to be happy.



The interrogative sentence ask a question. A question mark ends interrogative sentence.

Example:

Do we all want to be happy?



The imperative sentence expresses a command. A period ends an imperative sentence.

Example:

Everyone, strive to be happy.



The exclamatory sentence expresses a strong feeling. An exclamation point ends an exclamatory sentence.

Example:

How we all want to be happy!


The interrogative sentence follows a definite pattern. Statements with is, are, was, and were may be changed into questions by exchanging the positions of the subject and the predicate.

Examples:

          S    V
1. Mario is a student.
    V       S
    Is Mario a student?


               S        V
2. The boys were present.
         V              S
     Were the boys present?



Statements indicating present time and using verbs other than is and are are changed into questions by placing does (singular) or do (plural) as the first word to signal the question.

Examples:

         S          V
1. Myrna works hard.
                  S          V
    Does Myrna work hard?

                      S          V
2. The students work hard.
                        S            V
     Do the students work hard?



Note that in this form, the s form of the verb is assumed by does.

Statements indicating past time and using verbs other than was and were are changed into questions by placing did at the beginning to signal the question. The principal verb after the auxillary verb did is always in the infinitive form.

Example:

  S       V
Ely went home.
         S       V
Did Ely went home?



Statement with verb phrases (verbs of more than one word) are changed into questions by placing the subject after the forst helping verb.

Example:

                   S                    V
1. The students will come soon.
                            S           V
     Will the students come soon?

                  S                                   V
2. The students should have done well. (two helping verbs)
                                S                     V
     Should the students have done well?

                   S                         V
3. The students haven't seen her. (helping verb contracted with not)
                                 S           V
     Haven't the students seen her?



In the imperative sentence, the subject is always the personal pronoun you which may be merely understood. A statement may be changed into an imperative sentence by omitting the subject.

Statement: You keep quiet.
Imperative: Keep quiet!



The negative form of the imperative sentence is formed by placing do not before the verb.


Examples:

1. I am / tired.
    How tired / I am!

2. She is / a pretty girl.
    What a pretty girl / she is!

3. He shouted / loudly.
    How loudly / he shouted!


The negative form of questions is formed by inserting not after the subject.

Example:

1. Is she pretty?
    Is she not pretty?

2. Did she go?
    Did she not go?

3. Have you seen her?
    Have you not seen her?



Next Lesson 》Word and Phrase Modifiers | Lesson 5 》



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Lesson 3: Tag Questions | Easy English Subject

Study the following positive statements:

     You were a sophomore,         weren't you?
     You are a junior,                     aren't you?
     He is a student,                       isn't he?
     He was a student,                   wasn't he?
     They are present,                   aren't they?
     They were present,                weren't they?
     They will go,                           won't they?
     He studies well,                     doesn't he?
     They study well,                     doesn't they?
     They study well,                     don't they?
     They studied well,                 don't they?
     They studied well,                 didn't they?


Then compare them with these negative statements:


     You're not a junior,                are you?
     You weren't a sophomore     were you?
     He's not a student,                 is he?
     He wasn't a student,              was he?
     They aren't present,              were they?
     They weren't present,           were they?
     They won't go,                        will they?
     He doesn't study well,           does he?
     They don't study well,           do they?
     He did not study well,           did he?



The tag question is in its negative form when the first part od the sentence is positive; it is in the positive form when the first part of the sentence is negative.


If the verb in the first part of the sentence is a form of the verb to be, the  tag question repeats the verb.


If the verb in the first part of the sentence is not a form of the verb to be in the present tense, the tag question uses the verb does (singular) or do (plural).


If the verb in the first part of the sentence is any other verb in the past tense, the tag question uses the verb did.


When the sentence with the tag question is in the present perfect or past perfect tense, the verb in the tag question repeats the has, have, or had used in the first part of the sentence.


When the first part of the sentence uses can, could, may, might, will/would, or should, the tag question repeats these verbs.


Examples:

a. They have seen you, haven't they?
b. They had seen you, hadn't they?
c. He has lost a book, hasn't he?
d. They can do it, can't they?
e. She could walk, couldn't she?




Next lesson 》Kind of Sentences | Lesson 4 》



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Lesson 2: The Negative Form in English | Easy English Subject

The word not makes a sentence negative. It is used with the auxillary verb does, do, or did. Each basic sentence pattern has a corresponding negative form. In a negative sentence in the present tense, the auxillary does is used with the third person singular number; do is used with the other persons. Did is used as the auxillary verb for the past tense of negative sentences. The main verb following did always appears in the infinitive form without to.




1. S-V PATTERN

     Present tense

          The grass grows. (positive)
          The grass does not grow. (negative)

     Past tense

          Everything changed. (positive)
          Everything did not change. (negative)




2. S-V-O PATTERN

     Present tense (singular)

          The girl reads a book. (positive)
          The girl does not read a book. (negative)

     Past tense (singular)

          The girl read a book (positive)
          The girl did not read a book. (negative)

     Present tense (plural)

          The women brought flowers. (positive)
          The women did not bring flowers. (negative)

     Past tense (plural)

          The women brought flowers. (positive)
          The women did not bring flowers. (negative)




3. S-LV-C PATTERN

     Present tense (singular)

          Her bracelet is expensive. (positive)
          Her bracelet is not expensive. (negative)

     Past tense (singular)

          Myrna was a student. (positive)
          Myrna was not a student. (negative)

     Present tense (plural)

          The boys are quiet. (positive)
          The boys are not quiet. (negative)

     Past tense (plural)

          The men were busy in the field. (positive)
          The men were not bisy in the field. (negative)




4. S-V-IO-O PATTERN

     Present tense

          My aunt gives me money every day. (positive)
          My aunt does not give me money every day. (negative)

     Past tense

          My uncle brought me a new bag. (positive)
          My uncle did not bring me a new bag. (negative)




5. S-V-O-OC PATTERN

     Present tense

          I find that dress attractive. (positive)
          I do not find that dress attractive. (negative)


     Past tense

          They called him a traitor. (positive)
          They did not call him a traitor. (negative)




Next Lesson 》Tag Questions | Lesson 3 》




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Lesson 1: Basic Sentence Pattern | Easy English Subject

In any language, words follow a definite order; otherwise meaning is lost. The word order is determined by the structure natural to the language.

Like other languages, English has basic sentence patterns, and the student is said to be proficient in English when he/she can recognize and produce automatically the basic sentence patterns of the language.

The basic sentence patterns include the S-V, S-V-O, S-LV-C, S-V-IO-O, and S-V-O-OC patterns. Also to be discussed in this lesson are the request patterns.





THE S-V PATTERN

The first basic word order in English is the subject + verb, or the S-V pattern. S stands for subject, and V stands for verb.

The basic S-V pattern may be expanded by adding modifiers to the subject, to the verb, or to both.

Examples:

     Basic form:

                      S        V
     a. The grass grows.

                   S              V     
      b. Everything changes.



     Expanded form:

                                S           V      
     a. The green grass grows. (modifier added to subject)

                      S          V          
           The grass grows rapidly. (modifier added to verb)

               S                                        V
     b. Everything in this world changes as time passes. (modifiers added to both subject and verb)
     


   

 THE S-V-O PATTERN

The second basic pattern in English is the subject + verb + direct object, or the S-V-O pattern. S stands for subject; V stands for verb; and O stands for direct object. This pattern may be expanded by adding modifiers to the subject, to the direct object, and/or to the verb. In the S-V-O pattern, the direct object follows the verb. Modifiers of the verb come after the direct object. We say: I like tou very much, not: I like very much you. We say: I saw you when the bell rang, not: I saw when the bell rang you.



Example:

     Basic form:

               S        V          O
     The girl reads a book.


 
      Expanded form:


     a. The pretty little girl reads a book. (modifiers added to subject)

     b. The girl reads a long, interesting book. (modifiers added to direct object).

     c. The girl reads a book in a hurry. (modifiers added to verb)





THE S-LV-C PATTERN

The third basic pattern of the English sentence is the subject + linkin verb + subjective compliment, or the S-LV-C pattern. S stands for subject; LV stands for linkin verb; and C stands for subjective compliment. The basic pattern may be expanded by adding modifiers to the subject or to the compliment.


Examples:

     Basic form:

                       S        LV          C
     a. Her bracelet is expensive.

                 S    LV       C
      b. Myrna is a student.


     Expanded form:


     a. Her attractive, antique bracelet is expensive. (modifier added to subject)

     b. Myrna is a hardworking student. (modifier added to component)





THE S-V-IO-O PATTERN

Another basic word order in English is the subject + verb+ indirect object + direct object, and O for direct object.

This pattern, like the others we have taken up, may also be expanded by adding modifiers to the subject, to the direct object, or to both.

Examples:

     Basic form:

                   S       V      IO        O      
     a. My aunt gave me a watch.

                   S          V       IO         O      
      b. My uncle asked me a question.



     Expanded form:


     a. My kind, thoughtful aunt gave me a watch. (modifiers added to subject)

     b. My stern, old uncle asked me a very difficult question. (modifiers added to both subject and object)





THE S-V-O-OC PATTERN

The fifth basic pattern in the English language is the subject + verb + object + objective compliment, or the S-V-O-OC pattern. S stands for subject; V stands for verb; O stands for object; and OC stands for objective compliment.


Example:

     Basic form:     

     S       V              O              OC
     I consider Mario my friend.


You can recognize the objective compliment because it is identifiable with the object or it means the same as the object. Friend refers to Mario.


Next lesson 》 The Negative Form in English | Lesson 2 》


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