English Grammar – MBA CUET PG – Notes and Practice Questions

Introduction to Basics of English

Word classes, or parts of speech, are the basic units that form every sentence. They are grouped according to the role they play in communication. The four main word classes are:
(i) Noun
(ii) Verb
(iii) Adjective
(iv) Adverb

When we speak or write, we use words in groups. For example: Jack and Jill went up the hill. A group of words that expresses a complete thought is called a sentence. Sentences can be of four types:
(a) Declarative or assertive — The boy kicked the ball.
(b) Interrogative — Who kicked the ball?
(c) Imperative — Kick the ball.
(d) Exclamatory — Hurrah! He kicked the ball.

In any sentence, we name a person or thing and then say something about them. For instance, in Ram kicked the ball, “Ram” is the one being talked about, and “kicked the ball” tells us something about him. Therefore, Ram is the subject, and “kicked the ball” is the predicate. Every sentence contains both a subject and a predicate.

Sentences and its Components

A sentence is a group of words that creates a complete statement and conveys meaning. The main elements of a sentence are the subject, verb, and the direct object or complement of the verb. Some sentences may contain only a subject and a verb, while others include additional elements such as indirect objects and modifiers.

Subject:

A subject is the person or thing that performs the action expressed by the verb or is in the state described by the verb.
Examples:

• Antique pieces are costly.

• Manoranjan meets all his deadlines.

• Trees belong to nature.

• Lily cooks very fast.

• Ambi jogs daily.

Verb:

A verb is a word or group of words that expresses the action or state of being of the subject.
Examples:

• Ram reads books.

• Ashu plays cricket.

• Seema works as a manager.

• Jyoti dances well.

In these examples, the verbs “reads”, “plays”, “works”, and “dances” describe the actions performed by the subjects “Ram”, “Ashu”, etc.

Direct Object:

The direct object is the word that receives the action of the verb.
Examples:

• Factories cause pollution. (“Pollution” is the direct object of “cause”)

• The gardener plants trees. (“Trees” is the direct object of “plants”)

• The thief robbed the whole bank. (“Bank” is the direct object of “robbed”)

• Sona enjoys writing. (“Writing” is the direct object of “enjoys”)

• Lalita drives a car. (“Car” is the direct object of “drives”)

Complement:

A complement completes the meaning of verbs that express being, seeming, feeling, or appearing. These are known as linking verbs, and they do not take direct objects. Instead, they require complements. Most forms of the verb “to be” act as linking verbs unless used as auxiliary verbs.

Examples:

• Manu seems polite. (“Seems” links the subject Manu with the complement “polite”)

• Hema is a manager. (“Is” links Hema with the complement “manager”)

• She feels anxious during exams. (“Feels” links the subject with the complement “anxious”)

However, the verb “feels” is not always a linking verb. For example, in She felt the tremor, an action is being performed, and “tremor” acts as a direct object.

Before learning about types of sentences, it is important to understand the concepts of phrases and clauses.

Phrase

In English, the basic sentence pattern is Subject–Verb–Object (SVO). For example, in the sentence The boy broke the pen, “the boy” is the subject, “broke” is the verb, and “the pen” is the object. Following this pattern, every English sentence includes a Noun Phrase (NP) and a Verb Phrase (VP).

A phrase is a group of words that makes sense, but not complete sense.
Examples:

• Jack and Jill went up the hill.

• Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.

Phrases differ from clauses because they do not contain both a subject and a verb, which makes them incomplete. Let us look at the types of phrases.

Noun Phrase (NP)

An NP can contain a range of grammatical components.
Examples:
(a) NP – Article + Noun (A girl)
(b) NP – Determiner + Noun (The girl)
(c) NP – Article + Adjective + Noun (A beautiful girl)
(d) NP – Determiner + Adjective + Noun (The beautiful girl)

What are Determiners?:

A determiner is a noun-modifier that indicates the reference of a noun or noun phrase in context. Determiners include articles, demonstratives, possessive determiners, and quantifiers. They appear before the rest of the noun phrase.

In some languages, determiners attach to the noun. For instance, in Swedish, bok means “book,” and boken means “the book.” Similarly, in Romanian, caiet becomes caietul meaning “the notebook.”

Certain constructions, such as names of school subjects, use no determiner. This is known as the zero determiner.

The determiner function can be performed by various word types:

• Basic determiners: determiners or determiner phrases (e.g., the girl, almost all employees)

• Subject determiners: possessive noun phrases (e.g., his daughter, the boy’s friend)

• Minor determiners: simple noun phrases or prepositional phrases (e.g., what colour curtain, under twenty metres)

A determiner establishes reference or quantity rather than attributes, which are expressed by adjectives. Determiners also have multiple functions such as acting as modifiers in adjective phrases or indicating coordination.

Although determiners are a separate part of speech, many dictionaries still list them under other categories.

Determiners form a closed class of around 50 words, including:

• Articles: a, an, the

• Demonstratives: this, that, these, those

• Possessive determiners: my, your, their

• Quantifiers: all, few, many

• Cardinal numbers: one, two, fifty

• Negative determiners: no, neither

• Universal determiners: all, both

• Existential determiners: some, any

• And many others such as evaluatives, distributives, alternates, etc.

These are grouped into two main categories:

Definite Determiners:

They refer to a specific, known entity (e.g., demonstratives, possessives, equatives).

Indefinite Determiners:

They refer to entities not previously mentioned or newly introduced (e.g., existentials, interrogatives, negatives).

Determiners vs. Adjectives:

Traditional grammar often treated determiners as adjectives, but there are clear differences:

• Determiners like articles and demonstratives cannot occur together, but multiple adjectives can.
  Example: A huge red Italian hat.

• Most determiners cannot appear alone as complements, but adjectives can.
  Example: The worker is joyful.

• Adjectives are usually gradable (small, smaller, smallest), but most determiners are not.

• Some determiners have corresponding pronouns, which adjectives do not.
  Example: Everybody likes something unique.

• Some determiners modify only singular or only plural nouns, whereas adjectives can modify both.

Determiners vs. Pronouns:

Some determiners (this, all, some) can appear without a noun, functioning like pronouns. However, there are differences:

• Pronouns can appear in tag questions, determiners cannot.
  Example: This is beautiful, isn’t it?

• In phrasal verbs, pronouns must appear between the verb and particle, while determiners may appear after the particle.
  Example: Break it down.

• All pronouns have possessive forms, whereas determiners do not.
  Example: This is hers.

Verb Phrase

A sentence consists of a Noun Phrase (NP) and a Verb Phrase (VP), following the pattern:
S = NP + VP

Let us now understand how the Verb Phrase is structured and modified.

A Verb Phrase may appear in different forms:

• VP = Verb + Noun Phrase (NP)

• VP = Verb + Determiner + Noun

Verbs form the second largest group of words after nouns. They denote action, which is why they are often called action words—for example, walk, climb, talk, and sing. Verbs fall into three grammatical categories:

• Lexical verbs: an open class including most verbs like run, eat, breathe.

• Auxiliary verbs: a closed class including be, do, and have, used to add meaning to lexical verbs.

• Modal verbs: words like can, could, shall, should, will, would, must, may, might, expressing certainty, possibility, or necessity.

A verb phrase may contain the following optional components:

• A modal verb (e.g., will)

• The auxiliary have to indicate perfect aspect (e.g., He might have walked home today.)

• The auxiliary be to show progressive aspect (e.g., are going)

• The auxiliary be to express passive voice (e.g., She was criticized by her friends.)

The typical order of elements in a Verb Phrase is:
modal verb → perfect have → progressive be → passive be → lexical verb

The first verb in the phrase is always conjugated to show tense, person, and number.

Adjective Phrase

An adjective describes or qualifies a noun or pronoun. An adjective phrase may consist of:

• A single adjective — The girl is beautiful.

• An adjective modified by an adverb — The girl is truly beautiful.

• An adjective complemented by a prepositional phrase — The girl is beautiful to look at.

Types of adjectives include:

• Adjectives of quality — small, clever, thin

• Adjectives of quantity — much, little, some

• Adjectives of number — indicating “how many”

• Demonstrative adjectives — pointing out specific things

• Possessive adjectives — his, her, their

• Interrogative adjectives — what, which, whose

An adjective phrase is a group of words without a finite verb that describes a noun and functions like an adjective.

Examples:

• The boy in the blue shirt is my brother.

• She wore a necklace made of pearls and rubies.

• Anita is a girl with a friendly nature.

Adjectives can sometimes be expanded into adjective phrases:

• A village road → a road through the village

• A blank page → a page with no writing on it

• A silk dress → a dress made of silk

• A rich woman → a woman of wealth

More examples:

• This book has stories about our freedom fighters.

• He is a student of great promise.

• Only a person with plenty of money can travel the world.

Adjective phrases must be placed correctly to avoid confusion. Incorrect placement leads to absurd sentences:

• The dog chased the man with the curly tail. (incorrect)
  Correct: The dog with the curly tail chased the man.

• The chair was sold by the man with a broken seat. (incorrect)
  Correct: The chair with the broken seat was sold by the man.

Adverb Phrase

An adverb modifies verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Adverbs specify time, place, manner, degree, and frequency of an action.

An adverb phrase can:

• Function like an adverb — She came home too suddenly.

• Modify verbs — She talks too loudly.

• Modify adjectives — She was so tired that she fell into a deep sleep.

• Modify adverbs — She fell very heavily.

Examples of adverbs:

• Harry worked hard.

• It is bitterly cold today.

• They behaved rather noisily.

An adverb phrase is a group of words without a finite verb that performs the function of an adverb.

Example:

• He spoke in a rude manner. (adverb phrase replacing “rudely”)

Common adverb phrases include:

• next month

• in the morning

• at the end of this road

• with great care

• in a short period

Just as adverbs have several types, adverb phrases also belong to many categories:

• He searched all over the place. — place (where)

• We shall begin the journey soon after sunrise. — time (when)

• He spoke in a dignified manner. — manner (how)

• Barking dogs seldom bite. — frequency (how often)

• I am almost ready. — degree (how much)

• I do not like milk. — assertion (affirmation/negation)

• When will he return? — interrogative adverb

• She was, hence, given a punishment. — reason (why)

Adverb phrases can also modify adjectives or other adverbs:

• Fruit is good for health.

• He spoke well on the whole.

• He came yesterday, late in the evening.

Some important Adverbial Phrases:

• Above all — most importantly

• After all — despite everything

• As it were — metaphorically speaking

• Again and again — repeatedly

• At large — unconfined

• Above board — honest and open

• At the eleventh hour — at the last moment

• At any rate — whatever happens

• At a stretch — continuously

• By and by — soon

• Before long — shortly

• By the way — incidentally

• Few and far between — rare

• Far and away — beyond comparison

• Far and wide — in all directions