A-Z of grammar

Adverbial

Adverbs

A

A

B

Adverbial

Adverbs

B

C

An adverbial can be an adverb, an adverb phrase, a preposition phrase or a subordinate clause. It describes how the action in the sentence is happening, for example when it is happening, where it is happening, how it is happening, how often it is happening or why it is happening. Not all sentences have adverbials.

An adverb is a word that explains more about a verb. Many adverbs end with the letters -ly.

C

D E

Suddenly, it started to rain heavily.

F

D

Some adverbs describe how: Ella runs quickly.

E

The children sing loudly.

F

Some adverbs describe where:

G

G

Breathing quietly, Lee crept out of the room.

We live here.

H

You probably won’t notice it after a while.

I

I’ll make a cup of tea when I’ve finished reading this.

J K

An adverbial can go anywhere in a sentence:

L

I greatly admire your courage.

The plane flew south.

H

Some adverbs describe when: She is going on holiday tomorrow.

I Phone the police immediately.

J

Some adverbs describe how much: The door closed with a loud bang.

M

I really want to see that film.

K L

He was completely exhausted.

M

Some adverbs describe how often: Honestly, I didn’t mean to be rude to you.

N O

When the adverbial is at the start of the sentence it is called a fronted adverbial. These are followed by a comma:

P Q

Seriously, are you wearing that?

R

At the end of the match, the players shook hands.

N

You never come out to play football.

O

My sister and I always argue about who sits in the front seat of the car.

P

Adverbs that appear at the beginning of a sentence can modify the whole sentence: Fortunately, it didn’t rain.

Q

Sadly, Jackie can’t come on Friday.

R

Certain adverbs can be used to indicate that something is not definite.

S

Bitterly disappointed, the home supporters left the stadium quickly.

T When the cake is golden brown, take it out of the oven.

U V

Maybe we can go next week.

S

Perhaps you can help me with this?

T U

She is possibly too late to join the class now.

V

Adverbs can connect different parts of text:

W

W

I clean my teeth. Then I get dressed. (Then shows time relationship)

X

X

I get dressed. Next I make my lunch. (Next shows time relationship)

Y

Y

Z

Z

6

7

Antonyms • Auxiliary verbs

Auxiliary verbs

A

A

B

Antonyms

C

An antonym is a word opposite in meaning to another. For example forget is the antonym of remember.

D

Be

B I am happy.

I was worried.

Antonyms can be used to show a contrast:

E

You were angry.

After so many years her love had turned to hate.

I

P

S

I was washing my hair.

T

The chicken had crossed the road.

I did tidy my room eventually.

U Be, have and do are irregular verbs, which means that they do not follow the usual rules for making verb forms.

V W

You have a dog.

I had an apple.

I

She has a rabbit.

J

They have no pets.

You had an orange.

He had a pear.

L

We had some grapes.

They had strawberries.

M

Mary is having a baby.

We have had no sleep for two days.

N O P

I do not like her.

There are three auxiliary verbs: be, have and do. These are combined with other verbs to make different tenses.

R

G

Do

Auxiliary verbs

Q

E

K

A thesaurus can be a good source to clarify antonyms.

O

D

H

We have a parrot.

This government policy is not unpopular with the public.

(The policy is actually popular)

N

We were jealous.

He is being silly.

I have a cat.

L M

C

Have

Maria was not unhappy that the party had been cancelled.

(Maria was actually happy about it)

K

He was scared.

They are late.

F

Using an antonym with a negative can add emphasis to something that might seem surprising:

J

We are excited.

We have been ready for an hour.

G H

She is tired.

They were sleepy.

William had hoped by now to be rich; he was shocked to realise he was actually rather poor.

F

You are sad.

You do not like him.

We do not like them.

I did like him.

She does not like me.

They do not like us.

You did like her.

We did like them.

Q R S

She did like you.

T

They did like him.

U

The boys are doing their homework in their rooms.

V

I have done what you told me.

W

X

X

Y

Y

Z

Z

8

9

Clauses • Common nouns

Comparative adjectives • Complex sentence

A

A

B

Clauses

Comparative adjectives

B

C

A clause is a group of words which contains a subject and a verb.

There are two types of clauses: Main clauses (detailed on page 21) and Subordinate clauses (detailed on page 34).

The comparative shows that a person or thing has more of a certain quality than another person or thing. To make the comparative form of an adjective, add the suffix -er to the end.

C

D E

dull + -er = duller

Collective nouns

F H

pack

E

clever + -er = cleverer

F However, not all comparatives are made in this way. If the adjective is quite a long word, more is used instead.

A collective noun is a group or collection of things:

G

green + -er = greener

D

bunch

flock

beautiful

more beautiful

eccentric

G H

more eccentric

I

I interesting

J

Command

K

This is a sentence that gives orders or instructions. The verb used for commands is called ‘the imperative’ and is usually found at the start of the sentence. It can end with a full stop or, if extra importance needs to be emphasised, an exclamation mark:

L M

Give me the paper.

Come over here.

N O

When giving a polite command, the verb might not be at the start of the sentence:

Q

J K

Complement

L

A complement is a word or phrase that describes something about the subject of the sentence. It is a noun, a noun phrase, an adjective or an adjective phrase. Not all sentences have a complement. The verbs be, become, feel and seem need a complement.

M

Laura is an architect.

O

Stop right there!

P

more interesting

N P

They became very good friends when they worked together.

Q

Please stop talking.

R

The boys felt silly when they had to dress up.

R

S

She seems perfectly happy.

S

Common nouns

T

T

These nouns are used to name every example of a certain type of thing. They start with a lower case letter.

U V W

girl

city

picture

Y

U

A complex sentence has a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses:

V

Zoya threw the ball to Marion, who was standing on the other side of the pitch.

There are three different types of common nouns: Concrete nouns (detailed on page 12), Abstract nouns (detailed on page 3) and Collective nouns (detailed above).

X

Complex sentence

W X

Today is my birthday, although my party isn’t until tomorrow, which is a pity.

Y

Z

Z

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