English for Teachers: Language Content · Chapter 3

Parts of Speech, Articles, Prepositions and Helping Verbs

What to remember

English has eight parts of speech: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction and interjection. The same word can belong to different classes by its use in the sentence ("light" can be a noun, adjective or verb).
Articles are *a*, *an* and *the*. Use *a* or *an* by the sound of the next word, not by its spelling.
Prepositions show relations of time, place and direction. Modal verbs (can, may, must, should and others) are helping verbs that show ability, permission, duty or possibility, and are followed by the base form of a verb.

The eight parts of speech

Part	Job	Example
Noun	Names a person, place, thing or idea	teacher, Vijayawada, honesty
Pronoun	Takes the place of a noun	he, she, they, who, this
Verb	Shows action or state	write, is, seem
Adjective	Describes a noun or pronoun	tall boy, three books
Adverb	Describes a verb, adjective or another adverb	runs quickly, very good
Preposition	Shows relation of a noun or pronoun to another word	in, on, at, by
Conjunction	Joins words, phrases or clauses	and, but, because, although
Interjection	Shows sudden feeling	Alas! Hurrah! Oh!

Nouns

Kinds: proper (Godavari), common (river), collective (team, flock), material (gold), abstract (beauty).
Countable nouns have plurals (book, books); uncountable nouns do not (water, advice, information, furniture, luggage, news).
Some nouns are always plural: scissors, trousers, clothes, police. Some look plural but are singular: news, mathematics, physics.
Irregular plurals: child-children, man-men, foot-feet, tooth-teeth, mouse-mice, sheep-sheep, criterion-criteria.

Pronouns

Personal (I, you, he), possessive (mine, yours, his, hers, theirs), reflexive (myself, himself), demonstrative (this, that, these, those), relative (who, whom, whose, which, that), interrogative (who, what, which), indefinite (some, any, one, everyone, nobody), reciprocal (each other, one another).
"Who" is for the subject, "whom" for the object. "Everyone", "everybody", "each", "either", "neither" take a singular verb.

Adjectives and adverbs

Kinds of adjective: quality (good), quantity (some, much), number (many, five), demonstrative (this), possessive (my), interrogative (which), distributive (each, every).
Degrees: positive (tall), comparative (taller), superlative (tallest). Irregular: good-better-best, bad-worse-worst, little-less-least, much/many-more-most, far-farther/further-farthest/furthest.
Use fewer with countable nouns and less with uncountable nouns.
Many adverbs end in -ly, but not all (fast, well, hard, late). "Hard" and "hardly" differ in meaning; so do "late" and "lately".
Adverbs can be of manner, time, place, frequency (always, seldom) and degree (very, quite).

Verbs

Main verbs can be transitive (take an object) or intransitive (no object). They can be regular (walk-walked-walked) or irregular (go-went-gone).
Non-finite forms are the infinitive, the participle and the gerund.

Conjunctions and interjections

Coordinating: and, but, or, so, yet, for. Subordinating: because, if, although, while, since, unless. Correlative pairs: either...or, neither...nor, both...and, not only...but also, whether...or.
"Neither...nor" and "either...or" take the verb to agree with the nearer subject.

Articles

Rule	Example
a before a consonant sound	a book, a university, a one-rupee note, a European
an before a vowel sound	an apple, an hour, an honest man, an MLA
the for a particular, known thing	the book on the table
the before a unique thing	the sun, the moon, the sky, the earth
the before superlatives and ordinals	the best, the first
the before rivers, seas, oceans, mountain ranges, and some countries	the Godavari, the Bay of Bengal, the Himalayas, the United States
the before a community or class when used as a group	the poor, the rich
No article before proper names, languages, meals, sports	Telugu, breakfast, cricket
No article before most single mountains and lakes	Mount Everest

A/an means "one of many" (not known); the means "that known one".
Omit the article in fixed phrases: go to school (as a student), go to bed, by bus, at night.
Use "an" before a silent h (hour, honest, heir) and "a" before words like "uniform", "useful", "unit" (they start with a "yoo" sound).
Before a profession used as a class: "He is a doctor." Not "He is doctor."

Prepositions

Time

Preposition	Use	Example
at	exact time, festival	at 5 o'clock, at night, at noon
on	days and dates	on Monday, on 5 June
in	months, years, seasons, long parts of the day	in July, in 2020, in summer, in the morning
since	starting point	since 2015, since Monday
for	length of time	for two hours
by	not later than	by 6 p.m.
during	within a period	during the holidays
till / until	up to a time	until noon

Place and direction

Preposition	Use	Example
in	inside; a city or country	in the room, in Guntur
at	a point, a small place	at the bus stop, at school
on	a surface	on the table
between	two	between you and me
among	more than two	among the students
to	movement towards	go to market
into	movement from outside to inside	jumped into the water
across, through, over, under, beside, behind, opposite	position or movement	across the road

Common word and preposition pairs

good at, weak in, fond of, afraid of, proud of, jealous of, angry with (a person), angry at (a thing), interested in, keen on, aware of, capable of, different from, married to, famous for, responsible for, rely on, depend on, congratulate on, prevent from, accuse of, suffer from, listen to, look at, wait for, laugh at, belong to, apologise to (a person) for (a fault).
Preposition + gerund: "He is fond of reading." Do not use "to" + base verb after most prepositions.
"Discuss" does not take "about": "Discuss the matter", not "discuss about the matter". Similarly "enter the room", "reach Delhi", "marry her".
Do not end a formal sentence with a preposition if you can avoid it, though it is allowed in simple speech.

Helping (auxiliary) and modal verbs

Primary auxiliaries: be (am, is, are, was, were, been, being), have (has, had), do (does, did). They form tenses, questions, negatives and the passive voice.

Auxiliary	Use	Example
be + -ing	continuous	She is reading.
be + past participle	passive	The letter was written.
have + past participle	perfect	They have finished.
do / does / did	questions, negatives, emphasis	Does he know? I do not know.

Modal verbs: can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, must, ought to, need, dare, used to.

Modal	Main use	Example
can	ability, permission (informal)	She can sing.
could	past ability, polite request	Could you help me?
may	permission (formal), possibility	May I come in?
might	weak possibility	It might rain.
shall	future with I/we, offer, suggestion	Shall I open the window?
will	future, willingness	I will call you.
would	polite request, past habit	He would walk daily.
should	advice, duty	You should work hard.
ought to	moral duty	We ought to obey rules.
must	strong necessity, strong deduction, prohibition (must not)	You must not cheat.
need	necessity	You need not go.
used to	past habit, no longer true	I used to play.

Rules

A modal is followed by the base form of the verb: "She can swim", never "She can swims" or "She can to swim". (Ought to and used to take "to".)
Modals have no -s in the third person and no "-ing" or "-ed" form.
A modal does not need "do" for a question or negative: "Can you come?", "She cannot come."
"Must" shows strong need; "have to" shows outside need; "must not" shows prohibition; "need not" shows no need.
Two modals cannot be used together: not "He will can come".
"Had better" is followed by the base verb: "You had better leave."
The tag question for "I am" is "aren't I?".

Exam traps

"An hour" but "a university": the sound, not the spelling, decides.
"Fewer books" but "less water".
"Between" two, "among" more than two.
"Since" a point of time; "for" a length of time.
"Discuss", "enter", "reach", "resemble" and "marry" take no preposition.
"Neither of the boys is", "each of the girls has": singular.
After a modal use the base verb: "should go", not "should went".
"Used to" shows a past habit; "be used to" means "be accustomed to" and takes -ing ("I am used to getting up early").

One-liners

1. English has eight parts of speech.
2. "Alas!" is an interjection.
3. "The" is the definite article.
4. "An honest man" uses "an" because "honest" begins with a vowel sound.
5. "A university" uses "a" because it begins with a "yoo" sound.
6. "Since" is used with a point of time.
7. "For" is used with a period of time.
8. "Information" is an uncountable noun.
9. "May" is used for formal permission.
10. "Must not" shows prohibition.
11. "Should" shows advice or duty.
12. A modal verb is followed by the base form of the verb.

Practice questions

How many parts of speech are there in English?
1. 7
2. 9
3. 6
4. 8
Answer
D. 8
Noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, interjection.
In 'Alas! He has failed', the word 'Alas' is a(n)
1. interjection
2. conjunction
3. adverb
4. pronoun
Answer
A. interjection
It expresses sudden sorrow.
In 'The team won the match', 'team' is a
1. abstract noun
2. material noun
3. collective noun
4. proper noun
Answer
C. collective noun
A team is a group of persons.
Which of these is an uncountable noun?
1. chair
2. book
3. idea
4. information
Answer
D. information
Information has no plural form.
Which noun is always plural?
1. scissors
2. mathematics
3. news
4. furniture
Answer
A. scissors
Scissors takes a plural verb.
The plural of 'criterion' is
1. criterium
2. criteria
3. criterias
4. criterions
Answer
B. criteria
It is a Greek-origin irregular plural.
Choose the correct sentence.
1. The news are good.
2. The news have been good.
3. The news is good.
4. The news were good.
Answer
C. The news is good.
News is singular.
Choose the correct pronoun: 'The girl ____ won the prize is my sister.'
1. who
2. whose
3. whom
4. which
Answer
A. who
'Who' is the subject of 'won'.
Choose the correct form: 'Each of the students ____ present.'
1. were
2. is
3. are
4. have been
Answer
B. is
'Each' takes a singular verb.
Choose the correct word: 'There are ____ students in this class than in that one.'
1. less
2. little
3. lesser
4. fewer
Answer
D. fewer
Use 'fewer' with countable nouns.
The superlative of 'bad' is
1. worst
2. baddest
3. worse
4. most bad
Answer
A. worst
Bad - worse - worst.
In 'She sings sweetly', 'sweetly' is a(n)
1. verb
2. adverb
3. noun
4. adjective
Answer
B. adverb
It describes the verb 'sings'.
In 'He works hard' the word 'hard' is a(n)
1. preposition
2. noun
3. adjective
4. adverb
Answer
D. adverb
'Hard' here tells how he works.
Choose the correct conjunction pair: 'Neither Ravi ____ Rani came.'
1. and
2. but
3. nor
4. or
Answer
C. nor
'Neither' pairs with 'nor'.
Choose the correct article: '____ hour has sixty minutes.'
1. An
2. The
3. No article
4. A
Answer
A. An
'Hour' begins with a vowel sound.
Choose the correct article: 'She studies in ____ university.'
1. the
2. an
3. no article
4. a
Answer
D. a
'University' starts with a 'yoo' consonant sound.
Choose the correct article: '____ sun rises in the east.'
1. An
2. The
3. No article
4. A
Answer
B. The
The sun is unique, so 'the' is used.
Choose the correct article: 'He is ____ honest man.'
1. the
2. no article
3. an
4. a
Answer
C. an
'Honest' begins with a vowel sound (silent h).
Which sentence is correct?
1. Godavari is a long river.
2. The Godavari is a long river.
3. A Godavari is a long river.
4. An Godavari is a long river.
Answer
B. The Godavari is a long river.
The is used before names of rivers.
Choose the correct preposition: 'He was born ____ 5 June.'
1. at
2. in
3. by
4. on
Answer
D. on
On is used with dates and days.
Choose the correct preposition: 'We have lived here ____ 2015.'
1. for
2. from to
3. since
4. by
Answer
C. since
'Since' goes with a starting point of time.
Choose the correct preposition: 'She has been ill ____ three days.'
1. for
2. from
3. since
4. at
Answer
A. for
'For' goes with a length of time.
Choose the correct preposition: 'The prize was divided ____ the two brothers.'
1. within
2. amid
3. between
4. among
Answer
C. between
Between is for two.
Choose the correct preposition: 'He is good ____ mathematics.'
1. at
2. on
3. in
4. with
Answer
A. at
'Good at' is the fixed phrase.
Choose the correct preposition: 'She is afraid ____ snakes.'
1. at
2. with
3. from
4. of
Answer
D. of
'Afraid of'.
Choose the correct preposition: 'The Principal congratulated him ____ his success.'
1. at
2. on
3. for
4. with
Answer
B. on
'Congratulate on'.
Choose the correct preposition: 'He is angry ____ his friend.'
1. on
2. for
3. with
4. at
Answer
C. with
'Angry with' a person; 'angry at' a thing.
Choose the correct modal: '____ I come in, sir?' (formal permission)
1. May
2. Would
3. Must
4. Should
Answer
A. May
'May' is used for formal permission.
Choose the correct modal: 'You ____ not smoke here.' (prohibition)
1. need
2. must
3. dare
4. can
Answer
B. must
'Must not' shows prohibition.
Choose the correct modal: 'Children ____ obey their elders.' (duty)
1. can
2. might
3. may be
4. should
Answer
D. should
'Should' shows duty or advice.
'I used to play cricket' means
1. I must play cricket
2. I played cricket regularly in the past
3. I am accustomed to cricket now
4. I will play cricket
Answer
B. I played cricket regularly in the past
'Used to' shows a past habit.
Which of these is a primary auxiliary verb?
1. must
2. can
3. ought
4. have
Answer
D. have
Be, have and do are the primary auxiliaries.
The passive voice is formed with
1. be + past participle
2. do + base verb
3. modal + -ing
4. have + base verb
Answer
A. be + past participle
E.g., 'The letter was written'.
Statements: 1. 'Between' is used for two persons or things. 2. 'Among' is used for more than two. Which is/are correct?
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer
C. Both 1 and 2
Both are correct.
Statements: 1. A modal verb takes -s in the third person singular. 2. A modal verb is followed by the base form of a verb. Which is/are correct?
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer
B. 2 only
Modals take no -s, so 1 is wrong.
Statements: 1. 'A' is used before a word that begins with a consonant sound. 2. 'An' is used before a word that begins with a vowel sound. Which is/are correct?
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer
C. Both 1 and 2
The sound decides the article.
Statements: 1. 'Since' is used with a period of time. 2. 'For' is used with a point of time. Which is/are correct?
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer
D. Neither 1 nor 2
'Since' goes with a starting point and 'for' with a period; both are reversed.
Statements: 1. 'Fewer' is used with countable nouns. 2. 'Less' is used with uncountable nouns. Which is/are correct?
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer
C. Both 1 and 2
Both are correct.
Statements: 1. 'Mathematics' is a plural noun and takes a plural verb. 2. 'Scissors' takes a plural verb. Which is/are correct?
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer
B. 2 only
Mathematics is singular; scissors is plural.

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1.Fill in the blank with the correct preposition: They succeeded _____ finishing the project on time.
2.Select the appropriate preposition/phrasal verb combination: He is popular _____ his students.
3.Select the appropriate preposition/phrasal verb combination: He is good _____ mathematics.
4.Select the appropriate preposition/phrasal verb combination: She is angry _____ him for being late.
5.Fill in the blank with the correct preposition: They arrived _____ the airport an hour early.
6.Select the appropriate preposition/phrasal verb combination: He was absent _____ the meeting yesterday.
7.Fill in the blank with the correct preposition: The two brothers quarrelled _____ the property.
8.Choose the option that correctly completes the sentence: I am waiting _____ the bus.
9.Fill in the blank with the correct preposition: He is good _____ mathematics.
10.Fill in the blank with the correct preposition: He differs _____ his brother in opinion.

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