Order of adjectivesHow to order adjectives in EnglishIn many languages, adjectives denoting attributes usually occur in a specific order. Generally, the adjective order in English is:1. Quantity or number2. Quality or opinion3. Size4. Age5. Shape6. Color7. Proper adjective (often nationality, other place of origin, or material)8. Purpose or qualifierFor example:1. I love that really big old green antique car that always parked at the end of the street.2. My sister adopted a beautiful big white bulldog.When there are two or more adjectives that are from the same group, the word and is placed between the two adjectives:1. The house is green and red.2. The library has old and new books.When there are three or more adjectives from the same adjective group, place a comma between each of the coordinate adjectives:1. We live in the big green, white and red house at the end of the street.2. My friend lost a red, black and white watch.A comma is not placed between an adjective and the noun.

ExplanationPastPresentFuture

Simple PastSimple PresentFuture I Simple

action that takes place once, never or several timesHe played football every Tuesday.He plays football every Tuesday.He will / is going to play football every Tuesday.

actions that happen one after anotherHe played football and then he went home.He plays football and then he goes home.He will play football and then he will go home.

stateHe loved football.He loves football.He will love football.

Past ProgressivePresent ProgressiveFuture I Progressive

action going on at that momentHe was playing football.He is playing football.He will be playing football.

actions taking place at the same timeHe was playing football and she was watching.He is playing football and she is watching.He will be playing football and she will be watching.

Past Perfect SimplePresent Perfect SimpleFuture II Simple

action taking place before a certain moment in time; emphasises the resultHe had won five matches until that day.He has won five matches so far.He will have won five matches by then.

Past Perfect ProgressivePresent Perfect ProgressiveFuture II Progressive

action taking place before a certain moment in time (and beyond), emphasises the durationHe had been playing football for ten years.He has been playing football for ten years.He will have been playing football for ten years.

Simple TensesThere are three basic times when verbs can take place: past, present, and future.These are the easy ones to remember. In fact, they are calledsimple tenses.1.Simple present tense verbsshow actions that happen regularly or that are permanently happening.Weplayfootball in the backyard.My nieceskipsdown the road.2.Simple past tense verbsare verbs that show actions that took place in the past.Weplayedfootball in the backyard.My nieceskippeddown the road3. Simple future tense verbsare verbs that show actions that have not taken place yet, but that will take place in the future.We will play football in the backyard.My niece will skip down the road.You can learn more about simple tenses with these stories and exercises.

Perfect TensesEnglish verbs also have three perfect verb tenses: present perfect tense, past perfect tense, and future perfect tense.These tenses are pretty cool, I guess, but I'm not sure that I'd call themperfect. Whoever named these guys sure thought highly of them.At any rate, all of these perfect tenses are formed with thehelping verbshave, has, had, willandshalland thepast participlesof the verb.4. Present perfect tense verbsshow actions that were finished recently or ones that were completed at an indefinite time in the past. These usehasorhave.Wehave playedfootball.My niecehas skippeddown the road.5.Past perfect tense verbsshow actions that came directly before another action in the past. These usehad.Wehad playedfootball.My niecehad skippeddown the road before I came.6.Future perfect tense verbsshow actions that will happen before other future actions happens. These usewill haveandshall have.By tomorrow, we will have played football.By noon, my niece will have skipped down the road.

Progressive/Continuous FormsBoth simple and perfect verb tenses can also be made intoprogressiveverb forms. Sometimes they are also calledcontinuous.That just means that they show an action that is in progress or that is continuing.To form this type of verb, you add one of the forms of the verbbewith the present participle of the verb. (The present participle ends in -ing.)We are playing. (present progressive)We were playing. (past progressive)We will be playing. (future progressive)We have been playing. (present perfect progressive)We had been playing. (past perfect progressive)We will have been playing. (future perfect progressive)

Regular VerbsThese are not a different tense, but they are an important thing to learn about.Verbs that add -dor -edto their present form to form the past tense are regular verbs.Here are some sentences withregular verbs. Notice that they end in -dor -ed.The dog jumped toward the squirrel.We all noticed the stain on his shirt.My grandmother knitted me this scarf.

Irregular VerbsIrregular verbs are not a different tense, but they are also an important topic to study.The wordirregularmeansnot regular, soirregular verbsare those that have unpredictable forms in the past tense.They don't add -dor -edto their present form to form the past tense are irregular verbs.Here are some sentences with irregular verbs written in the past tense. Notice that they don't end in -dor -ed.I ate my vegetables.We swam across the lake.My mother read me a bedtime story.The Object of the PrepositionRecognize an object of the preposition when you see one.Prepositions often begin prepositional phrases. To complete the phrase, the preposition usually teams up with a noun, pronoun, or gerund, or the object of the preposition. Here are some examples:At noonAt = preposition; noon = noun or the object of the preposition.Behind themBehind = preposition; them = pronoun or the object of the preposition.Without sneezingWithout = preposition; sneezing = gerund or the object of the preposition.The object of the preposition will often have modifiers that add description:At the kitchen counterAt = preposition; the, kitchen = modifiers; counter = noun or the object of the preposition.Between us onlyBetween = preposition; us = pronoun or the object of the preposition; only = modifier.Without completely finishingWithout = preposition; completely = modifier; finishing = gerund or the object of the preposition.Infrequently, a clause will be the object of the preposition, as in this example:In class today, we talked about what Mr. Duncan expects in our next research essay.About = preposition; what Mr. Duncan expects in our next research essay = noun clause or the object of the preposition.HOME

Dependent Clauses: Adverbial, Adjectival, NominalDependent clauses may work like adverbs, adjectives, or nouns in complex sentences.1. Adverbial clausesLike a single-word adverb, an adverbial clause describes a verb (in the sentence's main clause) and answers one of these questions where? why? how? when? to what degree?An adverbial clause begins with a subordinating conjunction, which makes the clause subordinate (dependent).Common subordinating conjunctions:afterin order (that)unless

althoughinsofar asuntil

asin thatwhen

as far aslestwhenever

as soon asno matter howwhere

as ifnow thatwherever

as thoughoncewhether

becauseprovided (that)while

beforesincewhy

even ifso that

even thoughsupposing (that)

howthan

ifthat

inasmuch asthough

in case (that)till

Example of adverbial clause answering when? When will the flowers bloom? Answer: when spring arrives Example of adverbial clause answering why? Why didn't the poor woman have money? Answer: because she had lost her job Example of adverbial clause answering where? Where is there fire? Answer: where there is smoke Example of adverbial clause answering how? How did he answer the question? Answer: as if he knew the subject quite well Example of adverbial clause answering to what degree? To what degree of lateness will Jones arrive? Answer: (later) than Smith (will arrive) Another example of an adverbial clause answering to what degree? To what degree is he young? Answer: (younger) than his brother (is)Comma use with adverbial clausesComma use with adverbial clauses depends upon placement of the adverbial clause.If the adverbial clause introduces the sentence, place a comma between it and the main clause. If the adverbial clause follows the main clause in a sentence, do not place a comma between the two. 2. Adjectival clausesLike a single-word adjective, an adjectival clause describes a noun (in the sentence's main clause) and answers one of these questions which one? what kind?An adjectival clause usually begins with a relative pronoun, which makes the clause subordinate (dependent).Common relative pronouns: that which who whom whoseNOTE: Use who, whom, and whose to describe people. Use that and which to describe things.Adjectival clauses always follow the person, place, or thing they describe, usually immediately. Example of adjectival clause answering which one? Which book did Joe read? Answer: the one that I gave him Example of adjectival clause answering what kind? What kind of politician has the support of the people? Answer: one who is trustworthyAdjectival clauses may also begin with selected subordinating conjunctions: when - to describe a time where - to describe a place why - to describe a reason Comma use with adjectival clausesComma use with adjectival clauses depends upon essentiality of the adjectival clause.If the adjectival clause is essential (or "needed"), no commas should be used to separate it from the main clause.Generally, essential adjectival clauses should not begin with which. Examples Since the adjectival clauses in the above examples are needed to clarify the noun that they describe, they are essential and should not be separated from the rest of the sentence with commas.If the adjectival clause is nonessential (or "not needed"), commas should separate it from the main clause.Nonessential adjectival clauses should not begin with that. Examples Since the adjectival clauses in the above examples are not needed to clarify the noun that they describe, they are nonessential and should be separated from the rest of the sentence with commas.Note the difference between the sentences in each pair: 3. Nominal ClausesLike a noun, a nominal clause names a person, place, thing, or idea. A nominal clause may function in a sentence as any of the following: subject subjective complement appositive object of preposition direct object indirect object retained objectNominal clauses may begin with interrogatives: whowhom what which whoever whomever whatever when where how whyAn interrogative beginning a nominal clause has a function within the nominal clause.Each of the following examples illustrates a nominal clause the function of the nominal clause within the sentence the function of the interrogative within the nominal clause Nominal clause as subject in sentence Nominal clause as subjective complement in sentence Nominal clause as object of preposition in sentence Nominal clause as direct object in sentence Nominal clause as indirect object in sentence Nominal clause as retained object in sentence Nominal clauses may also begin with expletives: that whether ifAn expletive beginning a nominal clause has no function within the nominal clause. Nominal clause beginning with expletive that Nominal clause beginning with expletive whether Nominal clause beginning with expletive if