A review for ESL students

There are nine parts of speech. There are articles, nouns, pronouns, adjectives,
verbs, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections.
Compiled by Leah Graham, Summer 1999

N ouns
A noun is a word used to name something: a person/animal,
a place, a thing, or an idea. For example, all of the following are nouns.

 Leah, Ignacio, Lan, Marek

 Japan, Venezuela, Atlanta, Kroger, the Gap
 pencil, store, music, air
 biology, theory of Relativity, Pythagorean theory

Hint: They are sometimes preceded by noun markers. Noun markers are also called
determiners and quantifiers. They are words like a, an, the, this, that, these, those, each,
some, any, every, no, numbers (1,2,3,etc.), several, many, a lot, few, possessive pronouns
(his, her, etc). See determiners for more information.

 Nouns are classified in several ways…

1. Nouns can be singular or plural.
Singular nouns name only one person, place, thing or idea.
One apple, a pencil, the book

Plural nouns name two or more persons, places, things or ideas. Most singular nouns
(Not ALL) are made plural by adding –s. For example, (pencil is a singular noun. The
word pencils is a plural noun.)

Exception #1: If a noun ends with the –s, sh, ch, or x like the words, kiss, church,
ash or box, then they are made plural by adding –es (kisses, churches, ashes, and boxes).

Exception #2:There are also irregular nouns that do not follow any rules. For
example, the plural form of the word child is children.

2. Nouns can be Proper Nouns or Common Nouns

a) Proper nouns refer to specific people, places, things and ideas. A person's name
(Leah Graham) is a proper noun, for example. Other examples are names of places
(Atlanta, Georgia) and names of things (the Navy). They are always capitalized!

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  People’s names and titles- King Henry, Mrs. Smith
 Names for deity, religions, religious followers, and sacred books- God,
Allah, Buddha, Islam, Catholicism, Christians
 Races, nationalities, tribes, and languages- African American, Polish-
American, Black, Chinese, Russian
 Specific Places like countries, cities, bodies of water, streets, buildings, and
parks
 Specific organizations- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), ….
 Days of the week, months, and holidays,
 Brand names of products
 Historical periods, well-known events, and documents- Middle ages, Boston
Tea Party, Magna Carta
 Titles of publications and written documents

b) Common nouns are all other nouns. For example: cat, pencil, paper, etc. They are
not capitalized unless they are the first word in the sentence.

3. Nouns can also be collective.

Collective nouns are nouns that are grammatically considered singular, but include more
than one person, place, thing, or idea in its meaning. Words like team, group, jury,
committee, audience, crowd, class, troop, family, team, couple, band, herd, quartet, and
society.

Generally, collective nouns are treated as singular because they emphasize the group as
one unit. The committee is going to make a decision.

4. Nouns can also be either count or non-count.

Nouns that are non-count cannot be counted. For example, you cannot go outside to have
two fresh airs. One goes outside for fresh air.

5. Nouns can be Abstract or concrete

A noun can be abstract or concrete.
 Concrete nouns are nouns that you can touch. They are people, places, and some
things. Words like person, court, Georgia, pencil, hand, paper, car, and door are all
examples of concrete nouns.

 Abstract nouns are nouns that cannot be physically held. For example, things like air,
justice, safety, Democracy, faith, religion, etc.

6. Nouns can be Gerunds

A gerund is the –ing form of the verb and is used as a noun. For example,

Running is good for you.

Running is the noun/gerund and. is is the verb.
My crying upset him.
Crying is the subject and upset is the verb

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Note: A noun can fit into more than one of these categories. For example, the noun
Angela is a singular, concrete, count, proper noun.

P ronouns
A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun. They eliminate the need for repetition.
For Example:
Instead of Emma talked to Emma's child, you might say Emma talked to her child.
Her is the pronoun. It renames the antecedent, Emma.

 There are several types of pronouns.

Personal Pronouns refer to specific persons or things. Personal pronouns can act as
subjects, objects, or possessives.
1.

Singular: I, me, you, she, her, he, him, it

Plural: we, us, you, they, them

I, you, she, he, it, we, they are used as subjects of sentences.
For example, She knew the grammar rules very well.

The personal pronouns that can be used as objects are:

Me, you, him, her, it, them

For Example:
 The teacher gave all of them good grades.
 Tommy gave his poetry book to her.
 Then, Azra gave it to me.
Them, her and me are personal pronouns used as objects. They are NOT the subjects of
the sentences.

2. Possessive Pronouns indicate ownership or possession.

Singular: my, mine, your, yours, hers, his, its

For Example: She returned my pencil to me because it was mine.

3. Reflexive Pronouns name a receiver of an action who is identical to the doer of the
action.

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Singular: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself
Plural: ourselves, yourselves, themselves

For example: Manuela congratulated herself on her good grades.

Here, Manuela is both the doer and the receiver of the action.
Q: So, who did Manuela congratulate? A: Herself.

5. Intensive Pronouns emphasize a noun or another pronoun.

Singular: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself

Plural: ourselves, yourselves, themselves

For Example: I saw Brad Pitt himself at the mall.

Here, himself emphasizes the antecedent, Bradd Pitt.

6. Reciprocal Pronouns express shared actions or feelings.

Each other One another

For Example:
Yan Ko and Tai help each other with their homework.
Leon and his girlfriend dance with one another when they go clubbing.

7. Indefinite Pronouns refer to non-specific persons and things.

All, another, any, anybody, anyone, anything, both, each, either, everybody, everyone,
everything, few, many, neither, nobody, none, no one, nothing, one, several, some,
somebody, someone, something

For Example:
Many believe that UFO’s exist, but nobody can prove it.
No one can be sure if aliens really exist, but only few wonder if Elvis is still alive.
The underlined indefinite pronouns do not refer to any one person. They are referring to
people in general.

8. Demonstrative Pronouns are also considered noun markers. They “point” towards
nouns.

this, that, these those

For Example:
That woman attends Gainesville College.

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That points out which woman.
The woman attends Gainesville College. Q: Which woman? A: That woman.

9. Interrogative Pronouns introduce questions.

Who, Whom, Whose, Which, What

For Example:
Who is going on vacation? To whom will the teacher give an “A”?
What are you doing?

10. Relative Pronouns introduce dependent clauses and refers to a person or thing
already mentioned in the sentence (i.e. the antecedent).

Who, whoever, whom, whomever, whose, which, that

For Example:
The English that we learn in class will help us pass English 1101.
that we learn in class is the adjective clause that describes English. And, that is the
relative pronoun.
Q: Which English?
A: The English that we learn in class—as opposed to the English we learn around our
friends.

Note: Adjectives clauses modify nouns or pronouns, and usually answer one of the
following questions: Which one? What kind of? They begin with a relative pronoun or a
relative adverb (when or where).

A djectives
An adjective modifies (describes) a noun or pronoun.

Normally in English, the adjective comes before the noun. For example: The smart
student earned an "A".

They also come after linking verbs. For example:

I feel happy.

Adjectives can be used to make comparisons.

 For most adjectives of one or two syllables, you can add –er. For example, greater,
faster, stronger.

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  For adjectives longer than two syllables, you should use the word more.
For example, He was more intelligent than his sister was.

Adjectives can also be used as superlatives.

 This is usually done by adding –est to the end of an adjective that is one or two
syllables.
For example, the loudest, the coolest, the smartest.

 If an adjective is three syllables or longer, you must use the words the most. For
example, Katsu is the most likeable person in the world!

WARNING- Never use both an –er ending and the word more or an
–est ending and the word most.

For example, I am the most happiest when my students learn. Instead, it should be: I
am the happiest when my students learn.

There are some irregular adjective and adverb forms. For example:
Adjective Adverb Comparing two Comparing three or
more
Bad badly Worse worst
Good Well Better Best
Little Less Least
Much Many More Most

Punctuation Note: Adjectives are not usually capitalized unless they are the first word in
a sentence. BUT, nationalities are also adjectives and should be capitalized. For
example:

Ricky Martin is Puerto Rican and Michelle Yeoh is Chinese.

These are called proper adjectives. And, like proper nouns, proper adjectives are always
capitalized in English. They are derived from proper nouns and are words like: African-
American, Vietnamese, Latino, Italian, Japanese, Korean, etc. They can also include
adjectives like Catholic, Jewish, Republican, Democrat, etc.
When they are used together, they are arranged in a certain order.
Determiner* Opinion Size Age Color Origin Material Noun
The, This Pretty Big New Blue Puerto Leather Sofa
Some Tall Thin Old Purple Rican Wood
My Expensive Small Ancient Black Chinese Silk Scarf

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For Example:
I saw that tall, thin, old, blue silk scarf at the store and I bought it.
Leon drives an expensive old Italian car.

Although, we wouldn’t ordinarily use so many adjectives in just one sentence.

*Note: Determiners include articles, demonstrative pronouns, indefinite pronouns and

possessive pronouns.

A dverbs
An adverb is a word that modifies an action verb, an adjective or another adverb.

 The teacher carefully graded the homework.

Carefully is an adverb that modifies the action verb to grade.

 Tommy was extremely enthusiastic about doing his homework.

Extremely is an adverb that modifies the adjective enthusiastic.

 Yan Ko ran out of the classroom very quickly.

Very is an adverb that modifies the adverb quickly.

Warning: You need an adjective after linking verbs…NEVER an adverb!

For example, Tai feels bad (guilty) when he has to leave class.

Here, bad is an adjective that modifies the proper noun Tai. It is an adjective because it
follows the linking verb to feel.

HOWEVER, verbs like look, sound, smell, feel, and taste can function as either an
action verb or a linking verb.

Tai feels badly (to the touch) after swimming in a chlorinated pool. His skin is really
dry.

Here, bad is used in its adverbial form since it follows an action verb, to feel.

Types of Adverbs:

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1. Relative Adverbs introduce questions and dependent adverbial clauses. They answer
the questions When? and Where? They are:

When Where
For Example:
When I was young, I liked to play outside.
Q: When did I like to play outside? A: When I was young.

2. Adverbs of Frequency indicate answer the question how often? They are:

Always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, never

The students in ESOL 98 always study very hard.

They rarely forget to do their homework.

NOTE: Generally, these adverbs come before the verb; however there is an
exception. In the case of the verb to be, the adverb of frequency comes after the
verb. For example: Azra is always on time for class.

C onjunctions are the scotch tape of the grammatical world. They join together
words and phrases. There are three kinds of conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions,
correlative conjunctions, and subordinating conjunctions.

1. Coordinating Conjunctions
There are seven coordinating conjunctions in English. You can use the mnemonic device
fanboys to remember them.

For
And
Nor
But
Or
Yet
So

They can be used with commas to create compound sentences. For example:
Ignacio loves to dance, but Rocío has no rhythm.
Kyong Mee works hard, yet she still earns low grades.

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Note: A compound sentence is a sentence made up of two independent clauses. That is,
a compound sentence is simply two complete sentences joined by a comma and a
coordinating conjunction (i.e. a fanboys).

2. Correlative Conjunctions also join ideas, but they work in pairs. They are:
Both…and
neither…nor
whether…or
either…or
not only…but also

For Example:
Not only am I happy about the grades, but I am also excited that you are learning!

3. Subordinating Conjunctions join an independent clause to a subordinate clause. That

is, they join a clause that can stand alone with a clause that cannot stand alone. Some
frequently used subordinating conjunctions are:

after, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, since, so that, though,
unless, until, when, whenever, where, wherever, whether, while.

For Example:
Although the students were tired, they still came to class.

I nterjections
Interjections are words used to express emotional states. They can usually be found in
narrative writing, interviews, and in spoken English. They can stand alone. For example:

Oh!, wow!, Ouch! Oops! Hey!

Punctuation Note: They are punctuated with either commas or exclamation marks.
Mild interjections are followed by a comma, but stronger interjections are punctuated
with an exclamation mark (!) .

Oh, we’re late for the movie.

Generally, the movies is not an important destination. Therefore, the person making this
statement will sound less urgent than the next example.

Oh! I’m late for work.

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Work, unlike the movies, is generally considered a very important destination. If one
doesn’t arrive on time, there is the possibility of being fired or of losing face. Here, the
speaker will have a greater sense of urgency.

Generally , you do not find interjections in academic writing.

P repositions
Prepositions are words that, like conjunctions, connect a noun or pronoun to another
word in a sentence. Some common prepositions:

About Before Down Into Through

Above Behind During Like To
Across Below Except Of Toward
After Beneath For Off Under
Among Beside From On Up
Around Between In Over With
At By Instead of Since Without

A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a
noun or pronoun. They can act as adjectives or as adverbs.

Manuela, the student from Germany, wrote an excellent paper on the computer.

V erbs
Verbs generally express action or a state of being. There are several classifications for
verbs- action verbs,/linking verbs, main verbs/auxiliary verbs, transitive/intransitive and
phrasal verbs.

1. Action verbs show action.

He runs. He plays. They study.

2. Linking Verbs link the subject to an adjective.

Ricky Martin is beautiful.
The linking verb is links the adjective beautiful with the subject Ricky Martin.

1. Main verbs can stand alone.

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2. Auxiliary verbs, also called helping verbs, serve as support to the main verb.
The most common auxiliary verbs are:

Have, has, had

Do, does, did
Be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been
Should, could, will, would, might, can, may, must, shall, ought (to)

For example:

Tai has run everyday.

Run is an action verb. The subject can actually “do” it.
Has is the helping verb. It helps the main verb run to be present perfect tense.

Verbs can be transitive or intransitive.

1. Transitive Verbs require a direct object in order to make sense.

For Example:

Yolanda takes aspirin for her headaches.

Here, takes is a transitive verb since the sentence Yolanda takes has no meaning without
its direct object aspirin.

2. Intransitive Verbs do not need direct objects to make them meaningful. For
Example:

Julio swims.
The verb swim has meaning for the reader without an object.

Caution: A verb can be either transitive or intransitive depending on its context. For
Example:

The cars race. – Here, race is intransitive. It does not need an object.

My father races horses. – Here, races is transitive. It requires the object horses in
order to make sense.

Verbs can be phrasal.

1. Phrasal verbs are made up of a verb and a preposition. The preposition gives the verb
a different meaning than it would have by itself. For example, the verb look has a
different meaning from the phrasal verb look up (in the dictionary).

Some more examples:

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call up, find out, hand in, make up, put off, turn on, write up

WARNING: The base form of a verb is called the infinitive. It is to + verb. For
example, to do, to win, to study, etc. Under no circumstance can a verb preceded by to
be considered a verb. Infinitives are not verbs.

Q: What do articles do in a sentence?

A: Articles signal that a noun is going to
follow.

Example:

 Who invented the telephone? The wheel?

The refrigerator? The airplane?
 A cat was chasing a mouse in my back
yard.

Modifiers (adjectives & adverbs) can appear between an article and a noun.

Examples:
 A sunset.
 A spectacular sunset.
 An exceptionally spectacular sunset.

The indefinite article ‘a’ can only appear before nouns that begin with a
consonant sound: a hand, a book, a world, a computer…

The indefinite article ‘an’ can only appear before nouns that begin with a
vowel sound: an apartment, an hour, an article…

General Rules for the Use of Articles:

I. Use a/an with singular count nouns whose specific identity is not known
to the reader either because it is being mentioned for the first time, or
because its specific identity is unknown even to the writer.

Examples:
 Julia arrived in a limousine. (a = one among many. Not a specific one.)
 We’re looking for an apartment. (an = any one.)

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II. Do not use a/an with non-count nouns. Only use a/an with non-count
nouns if you add a count noun in front of the non-count noun.

Example:
 Anh asked her mother for an advice.
 Anh asked her mother for a piece of
advice.

III. Use the with most nouns whose specific identity is known to the reader because:

1. the noun has been previously mentioned:

 Yesterday I saw a group of ESL students. The students were playing with a
ball. The ball was white and blue. The ball rolled into a hole. The hole was
small.

2. the noun is made specific by a superlative:

 I bought the fastest computer they had.

3. the noun describes a unique person, place, or thing:

 Please give this to the manager.

 The sun is bright today.
 Rain is falling heavily in the North.

4. the context or situation makes the noun’s identity clear:

 Please don’t slam the door when you leave.

 Bob warned me that the dog playing in his yard is very affectionate and
jumps on every person it meets.
IV. Do not use the with plural or non-count nouns meaning “all” or “in
general” (i.e. generic reference nouns). Do not use the with most singular
proper nouns.

 The fountains are an expensive element of landscape design.

 In some parts of the world, the rice is preferred to all other grains.

V. Do not use articles with other noun markers or determiners, i.e. possessive nouns
(Helen’s) ; and some pronouns (his, her, its, ours, their, whose, this, that, these, those, all,
any, each, either, every, few, many, more, most, much, neither, several, some).
Exceptions:
All the…
A few…
The most…

Examples:

 The Helen’s book is on the floor.

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 A this book belongs to Trung.

A final caution- A word can be more than one part of speech.

For example:

I sat on the sofa.

Above, sofa is used as a noun (object of the preposition).

I slept on the sofa bed.

But, here sofa is used as an adjective to modify the noun bed.

And, native speakers often take poetic license with words in conversation. For example:

It’s Sofa city for you!

Here, sofa acts as an adjective to describe the noun city. The meaning of the sentence is
that the person will have to sleep on the sofa, not a bed.

Sources:

Azar, B. (1992). Fundamentals of English grammar 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice Hall Regents.

Hacker, D. (1989). A writer’s reference. New York: St. Martin’s

Press, Inc.

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Hayes, C. (1996). English at hand. Marlton, NJ: Townsend Press.

Leah’s head. 

Shono, S. (Fall 1998). ESL 0650 Articles Handout.

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Participle clauses

Participle clauses are a form of adverbial clause which enables us to say

information in a more economical way. We can use participle clauses when
the participle and the verb in the main clause have the same subject. For
example:

Waiting for John, I made some tea.

Waiting for John, the kettle boiled. [This would suggest that the kettle was
waiting for John!]

Forming participle clauses

Participle clauses can be formed with the present participle (-ing form of
the verb) or past participle(third form of the verb). Participle clauses with
past participles have a passive meaning:

Shouting loudly, Peter walked home. [Peter was shouting]

Shouted at loudly, Peter walked home. [Someone was shouting at Peter]

If we wish to emphasise that one action was before another then we can use
a perfect participle(having + past participle):

Having won the match, Susan jumped for joy.

Having been told the bad news, Susan sat down and cried.

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 -ed and –ing adjectives

Adjectives that end ‘-ed’ (e.g. ‘bored’, ‘interested’) and adjectives that end
‘-ing’ (e.g. ‘boring’, ‘interesting’) are often confused.

-ed adjectives

Adjectives that end ‘-ed’ describe emotions – they tell us how people feel
about something.

 I was very bored in the maths lesson. I almost fell asleep.

 He was surprised to see Helen. She’d told him she was going to
Australia.

 Feeling tired and depressed, he went to bed.

-ing adjectives

Adjectives that end ‘-ing’ describe the thing that causes the emotion – a
boring lesson makes you feel bored.

 Have you seen that film? It’s absolutely terrifying.

 I could listen to him for hours. He’s one of the most interesting people
I’ve ever met.

 I can’t eat this! It’s disgusting! What is it?

Remember that people can be boring but only if they make other people
feel bored.

 He talks about the weather for hours. He’s so boring.

 NOT I was very boring at the party so I went home.

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The meaning and use of participle clauses

Participle clauses give information about condition, reason, result or time.

For example:

Condition (in place of an if-condition):

Looked after carefully, this coat will keep you warm through many winters.

Compare: If you look after it carefully, this coat will keep you warm through
many winters.

Reason (in place of words like so or therefore):

Wanting to speak to him about the contract, I decided to arrange a meeting.

Compare: I wanted to speak to him about the contract so I decided to arrange

a meeting.

Result (in place of words like because or as a result):

I had no time to read my book, having spent so long doing my homework.

Compare: I had no time to read my book because I had spent so long doing
my homework.

Time (in place of words like when, while or as soon as):

Sitting at the cafe with my friends, I suddenly realised that I had left the oven
on at home.

Compare: While I was sitting at the cafe with my friends, I suddenly realised
that I had left the oven on at home.

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 Stative verbs

Some verbs are not usually used in the continuous form, even when we are
talking about temporary situations or states. These are called stative verbs.

 So, we say I’m sorry, I don’t understand rather than I’m not
understanding.

1. Stative verbs are often verbs connected with thinking and opinions.

 She doesn’t know what to do NOT She isn’t knowing what to do

 Do you agree with me?

 I don’t recognise it, do you?

Other verbs in this group

include: believe, doubt, guess, imagine, mean, remember, think

2. Other stative verbs are connected with feelings and emotions

 I like this song. Who sings it? NOT I’m liking this song

 What do you want to do now?

 I hate my new boss!

Other stative verbs in this group include: dislike, love, prefer. want, wish

NB – although ‘enjoy’ is a verb of emotion, it is used in the continuous tense

 I’m enjoying the party.

3. ‘see’, ‘hear’, ‘taste’, ‘smell’, ‘feel’ are verbs that describe senses.

These verbs aren’t usually used in continuous forms. They are often used
with ‘can’.

 It smells of smoke in here. NOT It’s smelling of smoke in here

 I can’t see anything. It’s too dark.

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 4. Stative verbs describe things that are not actions.

Look carefully at these 2 sentences.

 He smells of fish.

 He’s smelling the fish.

The second sentence is an action – not a state. The man wants to know if the
fish is OK to eat.

 I think we should go to Croatia for our holiday this year.

 Sorry, what did you say? I was thinking about my holiday.

The first sentence is an opinion but the second sentence is an action.

Wish and If only

Wish and ‘If only’ are both used to talk about regrets – things that we would
like to change either about the past or the present.

Talking about the present

 If only I didn’t have so much homework I could go to the concert

tonight. She has a lot of homework and she can’t go to the concert.

 I wish you didn’t live so far away.

 I wish I knew what to do.

When we talk about present regrets, both wish and if only are followed by
the past simple tense. The past tense emphasises that we are talking
about something ‘unreal’.

Talking about the past

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 I wish I’d studied harder when I was at school. He didn’t study harder
when he was at school.

 I wish I hadn’t eaten all that chocolate. I feel sick.

 If only I’d known you were coming.

Both wish and if only are followed by the past perfect tense when we talk
about past regrets.

Wish/if only and would

We use wish + would to talk about something in the present that we would
like to change – usually something that we find annoying.

 I wish you wouldn’t borrow my clothes without asking.

 I wish it would rain. The garden really needs some water.

 I wish you’d give up smoking. it’s really bad for you.

NB We can only use wish + would to talk about things we can’t change.

So I wish I wouldn’t eat so much chocolate is not possible although we can

say I wish I didn’t eat so much chocolate.

Verbs & Prepositions

Some verbs are usually followed by prepositions before the object of the
verb. these are called dependent prepositions and they are followed by a
noun or a gerund (‘ing’ form).

 He’s waiting for a bus.

For is the dependent preposition for ‘wait’

We can use other prepositions with ‘wait’ – e.g. He waited at the bus stop –
but ‘for’ is the dependent preposition.

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 Here are some other verbs with their dependent prepositions.

Verbs with ‘for’

 He apologised for being late. You can also ‘apologise to someone’

 I applied for the job but I didn’t get it.

 How do you ask for a coffee in Polish?

 She spent many years caring for her aged parents.

 I can’t go out tonight because I have to prepare for my interview

tomorrow.

With ‘from’

 This spray should protect you from mosquitoes.

 Has he recovered from his illness yet?

 He won an award because he saved someone from drowning.

 I suffer from hay fever.

With ‘in’

 She believes in ghosts.

 Our company specialises in computer software.

 You have to work hard if you want to succeed in life.

With ‘of’

 I don’t approve of your language, young man.

 Our dog died of old age.

 This shampoo smells of bananas.

With ‘on’

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 The film is based on the novel by Boris Pasternak.

 If you make so much noise I can’t concentrate on my work.

 Come on! We’re relying on you!

 We don’t agree on anything but we’re good friends.

With ‘to’

 Can I introduce you to my wife?

 Please refer to the notes at the end for more information.

 Nobody responded to my complaint.

With ‘with’

 I agree with everything you’ve said.

 My secretary will provide you with more information if you need it.

There are many more verb + dependent preposition combinations – make a

note of them as you meet them.

question tags

Question tags are the short questions that we put on the end of sentences –
particularly in spoken English. There are lots of different question tags but
the rules are not difficult to learn.

Positive/negative

If the main part of the sentence is positive, the question tag is negative ….

 He’s a doctor, isn’t he?

 You work in a bank, don’t you?

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 ... and if the main part of the sentence is negative, the question tag is
positive.

 You haven’t met him, have you?

 She isn’t coming, is she?

With auxiliary verbs

The question tag uses the same verb as the main part of the sentence. If this
is an auxiliary verb (‘have’, ‘be’) then the question tag is made with the
auxiliary verb.

 They’ve gone away for a few days, haven’t they?

 They weren’t here, were they?

 He had met him before, hadn’t he?

 This isn’t working, is it?

Without auxiliary verbs

If the main part of the sentence doesn’t have an auxiliary verb, the question
tag uses an appropriate form of ‘do’.

 I said that, didn’t I?

 You don’t recognise me, do you?

 She eats meat, doesn’t she?

With modal verbs

If there is a modal verb in the main part of the sentence the question tag
uses the same modal verb.

 They couldn’t hear me, could they?

 You won’t tell anyone, will you?

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 With ‘I am’

Be careful with question tags with sentences that start ‘I am’. The question
tag for ‘I am’ is ‘aren’t I?’

 I’m the fastest, aren’t I?

Intonation

Question tags can either be ‘real’ questions where you want to know the
answer or simply asking for agreement when we already know the answer.

If the question tag is a real question we use rising intonation. Our tone of
voice rises.
If we already know the answer we use falling intonation. Our tone of
voice falls.

Clauses and Phrases

To understand punctuation, it is helpful to understand the difference between
a phrase and a clause.

I. A phrase is a collection of words that may have nouns or verbals, but it does not have a subject
doing a verb. The following are examples of phrases:

 leaving behind the dog

 smashing into a fence

 before the first test

 after the devastation

In these examples above, you will find nouns (dog, fence, test, devastation, ignorance, intelligence,
thousands, pieces). You also have some verbals (leaving, smashing), but in no case is the noun
functioning as a subject doing a predicate verb. They are all phrases.

II. A clause is a collection of words that has a subject that is actively doing a verb. The following
are examples of clauses:

 since she laughs at diffident men

 I despise individuals of low character

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 In the examples above, we find either a noun or a pronoun that is a subject (bold-print and red)
attached to a predicate verb (underlined and purple) in each case:

 since she laughs at diffident men

 I despise individuals of low character

 when the saints go marching in

 Obediah Simpson is uglier than a rabid raccoon

 because she smiled at him

III. If the clause could stand by itself, and form a complete sentence with punctuation, we call the
clause an independent clause. The following are independent clauses:

 I despise individuals of low character

 Obediah Simpson is uglier than a rabid racoon

We could easily turn independent clauses into complete sentences by adding appropriate punctuation
marks. We might say, "I despise individuals of low character." Or we might write, "Obediah Simpson
is uglier than a rabid racoon!" We call them independent because these types of clauses can
stand independently by themselves, without any extra words attached, and be complete sentences.

IV. Dependent clauses have a subject doing a verb, but they have a subordinate conjunction placed
in front of the clause. That subordinate conjunction means that the clause can't stand independently by
itself and become a complete sentence. Instead, the dependent clause is dependent upon another
clause--it can't make a complete sentence by itself, even though it has a subject doing a verb. Here are
some examples of dependent clauses:

 since she laughs at diffident men

 when the saints go marching in

 because she smiled at him

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