building blocks of the English language
English, like many languages is most effectively learned from the ground up. To be fluent and proficient in written, and spoken English, one must understand how to use each component of a sentence. Additionally, one should be able to identify the key subjects of a sentence, their descriptions, and any actions they may be taking.
For example, we could analyze a sentence such as: The small, brown dog always ate its dinner at 6:00pm. The direct subject of the sentence would be the dog. Also, we know that the dog is small and brown due to the descriptive language being used in the sentence. Furthermore, we know that the dog eats its dinner at 6:00pm as described by the action of the subject, and that it always eats its dinner at 6:00pm, as demonstrated by the words indicating habitual actions (eating at the same time everyday).
Whether you’re just starting to learn English, or are fluent, chances are that you can effectively use some, or all of the components that make up a sentence in English. For the sake of explanation, this article will explain the different “building blocks” of a sentence, and how to use them.
Generally speaking, all complete sentences will, at a basic level, have a subject and an action. The other additional components to the sentence describe the subject(s) and the action(s), while often demonstrating the frequency of an event.
So, what are the “building blocks” of English writing? Let’s start with some simple words that will help explain how to build fluent sentences:
Nouns & Pronouns:
Noun:
· This is any living being, thing, place, idea, or quality.
· There are 11 types of nouns that we use in the English language:
1. Proper nouns: This is a expressed by a specific word, commonly a name, place, or thing which will be capitalized (Example: John, France, Eiffel Tower
2. Common nouns: These are words that are non-specific (not a name, place, or specific thing). Examples include: horse, television, person, cactus, orange
3. Singular nouns: A noun that is singular in nature, meaning that it only represents one living being, place, thing, idea, or quality. Some examples include: person, dolphin, flower, town, height, independence, etc.
4. Plural Nouns: A word representing more than one living being, place, thing, idea, or quality. Some examples include: birds, people, cities, rocks, etc. There are more than one type of plural noun that relates to how the word is changed when it becomes plural. There are regular plural nouns in which the word is changed by adding an ‘s’ or an ‘es’ to the end of the word (examples: dogs, vegetables, movies, etc.) There are also irregular plural nouns in which the word does not follow the regular ‘s’ or ‘es’ pattern; some examples include: men (plural of man), women (plural of woman), feet (plural of foot), mice (plural of mouse), cacti (plural of cactus), shelves (plural of shelf), etc.
5. Concrete nouns: This is a word pertain to a living being or thing that can be experienced by one or more of the 5 common senses (sight, smell, taste, listening, and touch). Some examples of concrete nouns could include: candle, coffee, soap, blanket, etc)
6. Abstract nouns: These are words that relate to abstract ideas or feelings that cannot be physically experienced by the 5 common senses. Some examples include: confidence, happiness, heartbreak, unity, democracy, etc.
7. Collective nouns: These are words that represent a group of living beings or things. They can refer to the group as one unit that performs an action together. Examples include: team, cohort, class, partnership, etc.
8. Compound nouns: Compound nouns are words that are the combined meaning of two separate words. Some examples include: hairbrush, toothbrush, sunrise, snowboard, notebook, etc.
9. Countable Nouns : Countable nouns are very literal in definition. They are words representing living beings or things that can be quantified. Some examples include: eyes, noses, couches, people, etc.
10. Uncountable nouns: an amount of nouns that is uncountable. For example: the quantity of stars in the universe, the number of grains of sand on all of the world’s beaches, the opinion or advice given by someone, etc.
11. Possessive nouns: Possessive nouns indicate when a noun is in the possession of another noun. This is usually expressed by adding an apostrophe (if the subject is plural), or an apostrophe + an ’s’ to a word (if the subject is singular). Some examples may include Mary’s dog, Womens’ shelters, car’s windows (singular car) vs the cars’ windows (more than one car).
(main source of information from this section came from my own learned knowledge and from dictionary.com)
Pronoun:
Pronouns are words that are used in the place of a noun. They are usually non-specific as they do not particularly identify the subject. There are ten different types of pronouns that are used for different situations. They include:
1. Nominative/Subjective pronouns: a short word used to replace a full noun; used when the noun is the direct subject of a verb. Nominal/subjective pronouns include: I, you, he, she, they, we, and it. Example of nominative pronouns in use: I felt happy because she was in town.
2. Objective pronouns: Objective pronouns are use to represent a noun when it is the object of a sentence. These include: me, you, him, her, us, they, and it. An example of objective nouns in use: He trusted mebecause I always tell the truth.
3. Possessive pronouns: short words that indicate that the subject of a sentence (noun) is in possession of another noun. These include: mine, yours, hers, his, theirs, ours, and its. An example of possessive pronouns in use: John was happy because his dog greeted him at the door when he came home.
4. Interrogative pronouns: Interrogative pronouns are words that are used when the noun is the subject of a question. They include: who, which, what, whom, and whose. An example of interrogative pronouns in a sentence: who brought the wine to the party, and which one are we going to have first?
5. Relative pronouns: Relative pronouns are words that are used to link a clause (a phrase that contains a verb and a subject/noun) to another noun. These include: who, whom, that, whose, and which. An example of relative pronouns in a sentence: I have a friend who likes to paint.
6. Reciprocal pronouns: Reciprocal pronouns are words that are used to demonstrate when multiple (2+) nouns perform reciprocating actions to one another; this can be positive or negative. These include: each other and one another. An example of reciprocal nouns in a sentence: They did not settle their dispute because they blamed each other for the issue.
7. Intensive pronouns: Intensive pronouns are words that are used to emphasize the phrase, or pronoun that is the subject of the sentence. These include: myself, yourself, himself, herself, themselves, yourselves, ourselves, itself. An example of intensive pronouns in a sentence: I’m strong, I can open the jar myself, thanks.
8. Reflexive pronouns: Reflexive pronouns are words used to describe a situation where a noun/subject performs an action to itself (the subject and the object of the sentence are the same noun). These include: myself, yourself, yourselves, himself, herself, themselves, ourselves, and itself. An example of reflexive pronouns used in a sentence: I lost my keys, so locked myself out of the house.
9. Indefinite pronouns: Indefinite pronouns are words that describe a non-specific noun. These include: someone, somebody, something, one, anyone, anything, nobody, no one, nothing, everyone, everything, everybody, few, many, most, little, all, etc. An example of indefinite pronouns in a sentence: somebody gave me a bouquet that has all of my favourite flowers in it!
10. Demonstrative pronouns: Demonstrative pronouns are words used to describe someone or something. They are specific in nature and refer to a particular noun within the context of a sentence; these pronouns would not be used on their own as they require context to be understood. They include: these, those, that, and this. An example of demonstrative pronouns in a sentence: Here, don‘t eat those oranges, eat these mangoes instead.
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