Basic English Language Study Guide

Table of Contents
1. Parts of Speech
2. Sentence Structure
3. Grammar Basics
4. Punctuation
5. Spelling Rules
6. Vocabulary Building
7. Reading Comprehension
8. Writing Skills
9. Common Mistakes
10. Practice Exercises

Parts of Speech
Nouns

Words that name people, places, things, or ideas.

 Common nouns: dog, city, book, happiness

 Proper nouns: London, Shakespeare, Monday (always capitalized)
 Concrete nouns: table, apple, car (things you can touch)
 Abstract nouns: love, freedom, courage (ideas/feelings)

Plural Forms:

 Add -s: cat → cats, book → books

 Add -es: box → boxes, dish → dishes
 Change -y to -ies: city → cities, baby → babies
 Irregular: child → children, mouse → mice

Pronouns

Words that replace nouns to avoid repetition.

 Personal: I, you, he, she, it, we, they

 Possessive: my, your, his, her, its, our, their
 Reflexive: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves

Verbs
Words that show action or state of being.

 Action verbs: run, jump, think, create

 Linking verbs: am, is, are, was, were, become, seem
 Helping verbs: have, has, had, will, would, can, could, may, might, must, should

Verb Tenses:

 Present: I walk, he walks

 Past: I walked, he walked
 Future: I will walk, he will walk
 Present Perfect: I have walked, he has walked

Adjectives

Words that describe nouns.

 Descriptive: red, tall, beautiful, smart

 Limiting: this, that, these, those, some, many, few

Comparison:

 Positive: tall, beautiful

 Comparative: taller, more beautiful
 Superlative: tallest, most beautiful

Adverbs

Words that describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.

 Often end in -ly: quickly, carefully, beautifully

 Answer questions: How? When? Where? To what extent?
 Examples: She runs quickly. He is very tall. They arrived yesterday.

Prepositions

Words that show relationships between nouns/pronouns and other words.

 Location: in, on, at, under, over, beside, between

 Time: before, after, during, until, since
 Direction: to, from, through, across, toward

Conjunctions

Words that connect words, phrases, or clauses.

  Coordinating: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet
 Subordinating: because, since, when, while, although, if, unless

Interjections

Words that express sudden emotion or feeling.

 Examples: Oh! Wow! Alas! Hurray! Ouch!

Sentence Structure
Basic Sentence Parts

Subject + Predicate

 Subject: who or what the sentence is about

 Predicate: what the subject does or is

Example: The cat (subject) sleeps peacefully (predicate).

Types of Sentences by Purpose

1. Declarative: Makes a statement. (The sky is blue.)

2. Interrogative: Asks a question. (What time is it?)
3. Imperative: Gives a command. (Close the door.)
4. Exclamatory: Shows strong emotion. (What a beautiful day!)

Types of Sentences by Structure

1. Simple: One independent clause. (I like pizza.)

2. Compound: Two or more independent clauses joined by a conjunction. (I like pizza, but
she prefers pasta.)
3. Complex: One independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. (I like pizza
because it tastes good.)
4. Compound-Complex: Two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent
clauses. (I like pizza because it tastes good, but she prefers pasta.)

Grammar Basics
Subject-Verb Agreement
The subject and verb must agree in number.

 Singular subject + singular verb: The cat runs.

 Plural subject + plural verb: The cats run.

Special Cases:

 Collective nouns: The team is/are playing well.

 Indefinite pronouns: Everyone has their own opinion.

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and gender.

 Correct: Each student should bring his or her book.

 Incorrect: Each student should bring their book. (unless using singular they)

Verb Tenses

Present Tense:

 Simple present: I walk

 Present continuous: I am walking
 Present perfect: I have walked

Past Tense:

 Simple past: I walked

 Past continuous: I was walking
 Past perfect: I had walked

Future Tense:

 Simple future: I will walk

 Future continuous: I will be walking
 Future perfect: I will have walked

Active vs. Passive Voice

 Active: The dog chased the cat. (subject performs action)

 Passive: The cat was chased by the dog. (subject receives action)

Punctuation
End Punctuation

 Period (.): Ends declarative and imperative sentences

 Question mark (?): Ends interrogative sentences
 Exclamation point (!): Ends exclamatory sentences

Comma (,)

Used to:

 Separate items in a series: red, blue, and green

 Join independent clauses with coordinating conjunctions: I went to the store, and I bought
milk.
 Set off introductory elements: After the movie, we went home.
 Set off nonessential information: My brother, who lives in Paris, is visiting.

Semicolon (;)

Used to:

 Join closely related independent clauses: I love reading; it relaxes me.

 Separate items in a series when items contain commas: I visited Paris, France; Rome,
Italy; and London, England.

Colon (:)

Used to:

 Introduce a list: I need three things: milk, bread, and eggs.

 Introduce an explanation or example: She had one goal: to graduate with honors.

Apostrophe (')

Used for:

 Contractions: don't, can't, I'm, you're

 Possession: John's book, the dogs' toys

Quotation Marks (" ")

Used for:

 Direct quotes: She said, "I'm going home."

 Titles of short works: "The Road Not Taken" (poem)
Spelling Rules
Basic Rules

1. I before E: Believe, receive (except after C or when sounded like A as in neighbor and
weigh)
2. Drop the E: When adding -ing to words ending in silent e: make → making
3. Double the consonant: When adding -ing to one-syllable words ending in consonant-
vowel-consonant: run → running
4. Change Y to I: When adding suffixes to words ending in consonant + y: happy →
happiness

Common Prefixes

 Un-: not (unhappy, unable)

 Re-: again (redo, return)
 Pre-: before (preview, preschool)
 Dis-: not, opposite (disagree, disappear)

Common Suffixes

 -ed: past tense (walked, talked)

 -ing: present participle (walking, talking)
 -ly: adverb (quickly, slowly)
 -tion: noun (education, creation)

Vocabulary Building
Context Clues

Use surrounding words to determine meaning of unfamiliar words.

Types of Context Clues:

1. Definition: The word is defined in the sentence

2. Example: Examples are given
3. Contrast: Opposite meaning is provided
4. Inference: You must infer meaning from context

Word Parts
  Root: Basic meaning (dict = say/speak)
 Prefix: Added to beginning (re-dict → predict)
 Suffix: Added to end (dict-ion → diction)

Synonyms and Antonyms

 Synonyms: Words with similar meanings (big/large, happy/joyful)

 Antonyms: Words with opposite meanings (hot/cold, fast/slow)

Common Academic Vocabulary

 Analyze, compare, contrast, evaluate, interpret, summarize

 Hypothesis, evidence, conclusion, significant, relevant
 Demonstrate, illustrate, indicate, emphasize, establish

Reading Comprehension
Reading Strategies

1. Preview: Look at title, headings, pictures

2. Predict: What do you think this will be about?
3. Question: Ask yourself questions while reading
4. Clarify: Stop and make sure you understand
5. Summarize: Retell main ideas in your own words

Finding Main Ideas

 Main idea: What the passage is mostly about

 Supporting details: Information that explains or proves the main idea
 Topic sentence: Usually contains the main idea (often first sentence)

Making Inferences

Drawing conclusions based on:

 What the text says directly

 Your own knowledge and experience
 Clues from the context

Text Structure

 Chronological: Events in time order

 Cause and effect: Shows why something happened
  Compare and contrast: Shows similarities and differences
 Problem and solution: Presents a problem and its solution
 Description: Gives details about a topic

Writing Skills
Writing Process

1. Prewriting: Brainstorm, plan, organize

2. Drafting: Write your first version
3. Revising: Improve content and organization
4. Editing: Fix grammar, spelling, punctuation
5. Publishing: Share your final version

Paragraph Structure

 Topic sentence: States the main idea

 Supporting sentences: Provide details and examples
 Concluding sentence: Wraps up the paragraph

Essay Structure

Introduction:

 Hook to grab attention

 Background information
 Thesis statement

Body Paragraphs:

 Topic sentence
 Supporting evidence
 Explanation and analysis
 Transition to next paragraph

Conclusion:

 Restate thesis
 Summarize main points
 Final thought or call to action

Sentence Variety
Use different sentence types and lengths:

 Simple sentences for clarity

 Compound sentences to show relationships
 Complex sentences for detailed explanations
 Vary sentence beginnings and structures

Common Mistakes
Homophones

Words that sound the same but have different meanings:

 There/Their/They're: There is the place, their shows possession, they're is a contraction

 To/Too/Two: To is a preposition, too means also or excessive, two is the number
 Your/You're: Your shows possession, you're is a contraction
 Its/It's: Its shows possession, it's is a contraction

Commonly Confused Words

 Accept/Except: Accept means to receive, except means excluding

 Affect/Effect: Affect is a verb (to influence), effect is a noun (result)
 Lose/Loose: Lose means to misplace, loose means not tight
 Than/Then: Than is used for comparison, then indicates time

Grammar Errors

 Run-on sentences: Two or more independent clauses incorrectly joined

 Fragments: Incomplete sentences missing subject or verb
 Comma splices: Two independent clauses joined only by a comma
 Misplaced modifiers: Descriptive words placed incorrectly

Practice Exercises
Parts of Speech

Identify the part of speech for each underlined word:

1. The beautiful flowers bloomed in spring.

2. She quickly ran to the store.
3. Wow, that was amazing!
 4. The book is on the table.
5. I am very tired today.

Sentence Structure

Identify the sentence type (simple, compound, complex, compound-complex): 6. I went to the
store. 7. I went to the store, and I bought milk. 8. When I went to the store, I bought milk. 9. I
went to the store because I needed milk, and I also bought bread.

Grammar

Correct the errors in these sentences: 10. The cats runs quickly. 11. Each student should bring
their books. 12. I have went to the store. 13. She don't like pizza. 14. Between you and I, this is
difficult.

Punctuation

Add correct punctuation: 15. I need three things milk bread and eggs 16. She said I'm going
home 17. Johns book is on the table 18. What time is it 19. After the movie we went home

Spelling

Choose the correct spelling: 20. (Believe/Beleive) in yourself. 21. I (recieved/received) your
letter. 22. The (children/childern) are playing. 23. She is very (beautifull/beautiful). 24.
(Tommorow/Tomorrow) is Monday.

Vocabulary

Use context clues to determine the meaning of the underlined words: 25. The arid desert had no
water for miles, making it impossible for plants to grow. 26. She was elated when she won the
prize, jumping up and down with joy. 27. The diminutive puppy was so small it could fit in a
teacup.

Answer Key

1. Adjective 2. Adverb 3. Interjection 4. Preposition 5. Verb

2. Simple 7. Compound 8. Complex 9. Compound-complex
3. The cats run quickly. 11. Each student should bring his or her books. 12. I have gone to
the store. 13. She doesn't like pizza. 14. Between you and me, this is difficult.
4. I need three things: milk, bread, and eggs. 16. She said, "I'm going home." 17. John's
book is on the table. 18. What time is it? 19. After the movie, we went home.
5. Believe 21. received 22. children 23. beautiful 24. Tomorrow
6. Arid = dry 26. Elated = very happy 27. Diminutive = very small
Tips for Improvement
 Read regularly to expand vocabulary and improve comprehension
 Practice writing daily, even if just for a few minutes
 Keep a vocabulary journal with new words and their meanings
 Proofread your writing carefully before submitting
 Ask for feedback from teachers, peers, or tutors
 Use online resources and grammar checkers as tools, not crutches
 Focus on one skill at a time rather than trying to improve everything at once

This guide provides a foundation for understanding basic English language concepts. Continue
practicing and seek additional resources as needed.