English Grammar

A beautiful old Italian car

a beautiful old Italian car (opinion-age-origin)

A big red wooden box

a big red wooden box (size-color-material)

Order flexibility

Strict (violations sound foreign)

Position

Before noun

Agreement

No

Multiple adjectives

Fixed order (opinion-size-age-shape-color-origin-material-purpose)

Yesterday he arrived (time)

Yesterday he arrived / He arrived yesterday (flexible)

He arrived quickly (manner)

He arrived quickly (-ly adverb)

He arrived in Madrid (place)

He arrived in Madrid (preposition depends on verb)

Formation

adjective + -ly (quickly)

Position (manner)

Usually after verb/object

Position (frequency)

Before main verb / after 'be'

John said he would come

John said that he would come (he = John or other)

John saw himself

John saw himself (himself = reflexive)

John's book and Mary's book

John's book and Mary's (Mary's = possessive pronoun)

My friend, the doctor

my friend, the doctor (comma)

Paris, the capital of France

Paris, the capital of France (comma)

President Biden

President Biden (no comma)

Definite singular

the book

Indefinite singular

a book

Definite plural

the books

Completed action

Past simple: I spoke / I have spoken

Ongoing action

Continuous: I am speaking

Habitual action

Used to / would: I used to speak

John saw himself (local binding)

John saw himself (himself = John, local)

John said Peter saw himself (must be Peter)

John said that Peter saw himself (himself = Peter, NOT John)

John saw him (him ≠ John)

John saw him (him ≠ John)

Make someone do (force)

make + bare infinitive

Let someone do (permit)

let + bare infinitive

Have someone do (arrange)

have + bare infinitive / get + to

Counted noun (one book)

a book / one book

Demonstrative + noun

this book

Gender system

No

I see him

I see him

See him!

See him!

Give it to me

Give it to me

Single-word switch (noun)

I want some agua (agua → Spanish in English)

Phrase-level switch

Let's go to la casa (Spanish phrase in English)

Switched verb with native morphology

I want to comer (Spanish verb in English frame)

I know that he came

I know that he came

I want him to come

I want him to come

It's important that he study

It's important that he study (subjunctive)

Blackboard

black + board (compound)

Toothbrush

tooth + brush (compound)

Skyscraper

sky + scraper (noun-noun compound)

Although it rains, I'll go

Although it is raining, I'll go

Even if it rains, I'll go

Even if it rains, I'll go

Despite the rain

Despite the rain / In spite of the rain

I speak / He speaks

I speak / He speaks (-s for 3rd person singular)

The tall boy / The tall girl

The tall boy / The tall girl (no agreement)

The tall boys / The tall girls

The tall boys / The tall girls

I would go

I would go

If I had time, I would read

If I had time, I would read

If I had studied, I would have passed

If I had studied, I would have passed

Zero conditional (fact)

If + present, present

First conditional (probable)

If + present, will + verb

Second conditional (hypothetical)

If + past simple, would + verb

And

and

But

but / yet

Or

or

Total consonant phonemes

~24

Aspiration contrast

Yes (pʰ, tʰ, kʰ initially; p, t, k after s)

Voicing contrast

Yes (p/b, t/d, k/g, f/v, s/z, etc.)

John and Mary

John and Mary

John or Mary

John or Mary

John but not Mary

John but not Mary

I am a doctor

I am a doctor

I am tired

I am tired

I am in Madrid

I am in Madrid

The more... the more

The more... the more

Both... and

both... and

Neither... nor

neither... nor

I gave John a book

I gave John a book (dative shifted)

I gave a book to John

I gave a book to John (prepositional)

Dative shift (alternation)

Very productive (John the book / the book to John)

This (near speaker)

this

That (near listener)

that

That (far from both)

that (yon — archaic)

This (near speaker)

this

That (near listener)

that

That over there (far from both)

that (over there)

The book (definite)

the book

A book (indefinite)

a book / an apple

Some books

some books

Major varieties

British (RP, Scots, Irish, Geordie), American (General, Southern, AAVE), Australian, Indian, Singapore

Mutual intelligibility

High (written); variable spoken (Scots, strong regional accents)

Phonological variation

rhoticity, trap-bath split, cot-caught merger, vowel shifts

Direct object marking

word order / it/him/her

Indirect object marking

to + noun/pronoun

Double pronouns (IO + DO)

to him/her + it/them

Come here

Come here

Go there

Go there

Come in

Come in

Furthermore / Moreover

furthermore / moreover / in addition / besides

However / Nevertheless

however / nevertheless / nonetheless / yet

Therefore / Thus

therefore / thus / hence / consequently / as a result

I don't know anything

I don't know anything

Nobody never came

Nobody ever came (nobody never = somebody)

I don't need nothing

I don't need anything (I don't need nothing = non-standard)

Subject omission

Very rare (imperatives only)

Object omission

Rare (anaphora only)

Verb omission

Very rare (elliptical answers)

It was John who left

It was John who left

It was yesterday that he left

It was yesterday that he left

What I want is peace

What I want is peace

John is as tall as Mary

John is as tall as Mary (as...as)

John is not as tall as Mary

John is not as tall as Mary

John runs as fast as Mary

John runs as fast as Mary

Primary ancestor

Proto-Germanic + heavy Latin/French influence

Written tradition age

~1,300 years (from ~700 CE)

Vocabulary layers

Anglo-Saxon + Norman French + Latin + Greek + global loans

I see that he left

I see that he left

I heard he left

I heard he left

It seems he left

It seems he left

What a beautiful day!

What a beautiful day!

How tall he is!

How tall he is!

How many books!

What a lot of books! / So many books!

There is/are (existence)

there is / there are

Location (to be at)

be / is at

Possession (to have)

have / has

There is a book

There is a book

There are many people

There are many people

There isn't any water

There isn't any water / There's no water

Actual

actual = real, existing in fact

Embarrassed / Embarazada

embarrassed = avergonzado

Library / Librería

library = biblioteca

I want to leave (to-infinitive = non-finite)

I want to leave (to leave = infinitive, non-finite)

Leaving early is wise (gerund = non-finite subject)

Leaving early is wise (-ing form as subject)

Seen from above (past participle = non-finite)

Seen from above (past participle, non-finite)

It was JOHN who broke it (cleft)

It was JOHN who broke it (it-cleft)

JOHN broke it (stress)

JOHN broke it (stress on subject)

It was THE VASE that John broke (object cleft)

It was THE VASE that John broke

You (singular informal)

you

You (singular formal)

you (no distinction)

You (plural informal)

you / you guys / y'all

Spontaneous decision

I forgot! I'll do it now.

Prediction based on evidence

Look at those clouds. It's going to rain.

Planned intention

I'm going to study medicine next year.

Nominative (subject)

I, you, he, she

Accusative (direct object)

me, you, him, her, us, them

Dative (indirect object)

me, you, him, her, us, them (same as accusative)

System type

Natural (he/she/it for animates)

Articles agree

No (the)

Adjectives agree

No

Future from 'go'

be going to + verb (I'm going to eat)

Progressive from locative

be + -ing (originally locative 'be on/at doing')

Perfect from 'have'

have + past participle (I have eaten)

Maybe / perhaps

maybe / perhaps / possibly

Kind of / sort of

kind of / sort of / somewhat

I think / I guess

I think / I guess / I suppose

You (formal)

you (no grammatical distinction)

You (informal)

you

Mr./Ms. + name

Mr./Ms./Mrs. + last name

It's raining cats and dogs

It's raining cats and dogs

Break a leg (good luck)

Break a leg

Kill two birds with one stone

Kill two birds with one stone

Positive command (Come!)

Come!

Negative command (Don't come!)

Don't come!

Formal request

Please come / Would you come?

It is raining

It is raining

One must study

One must study / You have to study

They say / People say

They say / People say / It is said

I don't know if he came

I don't know if he came

I wonder where he went

I wonder where he went

Tell me what you want

Tell me what you want

Dictionary form

to speak, to eat, to live

Infinitive as subject

To swim is healthy. / Swimming is healthy.

Infinitive after modal

I can swim.

¡Ouch! (dolor)

Ouch! / Ow!

¡Wow! (sorpresa)

Wow!

¡Oh no! (lamentación)

Oh no!

Yes/No question intonation

Rising intonation at end

Wh-question intonation

Falling intonation at end

Statement intonation

Falling intonation at end

Here comes the bus

Here comes the bus (locative inversion)

Never have I seen such beauty

Never have I seen such beauty (auxiliary inversion)

Only then did I understand

Only then did I understand (auxiliary inversion)

Take a walk

take a walk

Take a shower

take a shower

Make a decision

make a decision

Computer

computer — from Latin computare

Coffee

coffee — from Arabic via Turkish/Dutch

Typhoon

typhoon — from Chinese taifeng via Arabic/Greek

Taller than

taller than / more expensive than

As tall as

as tall as

Less tall than

less tall than / not as tall as

A cup of tea

a cup of tea

A bottle of water

a bottle of water

A piece of cake

a piece of cake

Ability (can)

can / could

Possibility (may/might)

may / might

Permission (may)

may / can

Statement of fact

She studies medicine.

Wish / desire

I want you to come.

Hypothetical

If I had money, I would travel.

cats = cat + -s

cats = cat + -s (plural inflection)

walked = walk + -ed

walked = walk + -ed (past inflection)

happiness = happy + -ness

happiness = happy + -ness (derivation)

Simple negation

do/does/did + not + verb

Negation of 'to be'

am/is/are + not

Negation of 'to have'

do/does + not + have

The good (people/things)

the good

What is important

the important thing / what is important

To swim is fun

Swimming is fun / To swim is fun

The table

the table (no gender)

Two tables

two tables (-s plural)

Water (mass noun)

water (mass, no article)

1-10 basic

one, two, three... ten

11-19 (teens)

ten + number (eleven, twelve, thirteen...)

20, 30, 40...

twenty, thirty, forty...

Alphabet size

26 letters

Sound-letter correspondence

Irregular (deep orthography)

Stress marking

No stress marking in writing

Present participle / gerund

reading (I am reading)

Past participle

read (I have read)

Participle as adjective

The door is open.

Completion

Past simple: I spoke

Past experience

Present perfect: I have spoken

Ongoing action

Continuous: I am speaking

Some of the water

some of the water / a little water

One of my friends

one of my friends

A piece of cake

a piece of cake

Basic passive

be + past participle

Agent mentioned

by + agent

Passive frequency

Very common

Vowel inventory

~12 pure + 8 diphthongs (complex, spelling-irregular)

Consonant inventory

~24 consonants; complex clusters: strengths /strɛŋkθs/

Syllable structure

CCCVCCCC: complex clusters (strengths, texts)

Give up (surrender)

give up (separable phrasal verb)

Turn on the light

turn on the light (separable)

Turn off the light

turn off the light (separable)

Regular plural

-s / -es (book → books)

Irregular plurals

Yes (man → men; child → children; tooth → teeth)

Plural agreement on articles

No (the / a)

Cause / reason

because of, for

Recipient / beneficiary

for

Medium / transport

by, through

Basic possession (John's book)

John's book

Possessive adjective (my)

my (invariable)

Possessive pronoun (mine)

mine (invariable)

John is tall (adjectival)

John is tall (copula required)

John is a teacher (nominal)

John is a teacher (copula required)

It rains (verbal, no argument)

It rains (expletive subject)

Location (in)

in / at

Destination (to)

to

Origin (from)

from

Completed action

simple past

Habitual past

used to / would

Ongoing interrupted action

past progressive + simple past

I speak Spanish

I speak Spanish — I required

He speaks Spanish

He speaks Spanish — he required

It is raining

It is raining — expletive it required

I like it and so does he

I like it and so does he

I went and he did too

I went and he did too

Do you like it? Yes, I do.

Do you like it? Yes, I do.

Don't go!

Don't go!

Don't touch!

Don't touch!

No smoking

No smoking / Smoking prohibited

First person singular

I

Second person singular (informal)

you

Second person singular (formal)

you

Sentence end (statement)

. (period)

Sentence end (question)

? (question mark)

Sentence end (exclamation)

! (exclamation mark)

All

all / every / each

Some

some / a few / several

Any

any (free-choice & NPI)

You're coming, aren't you?

You're coming, aren't you?

He's not here, is he?

He's not here, is he?

You understand, right?

You understand, right? / You understand, don't you?

Yes/no question

Are you coming? / Do you come?

Wh-question (what)

What do you want?

Question word order

Auxiliary + subject + verb

They love each other

They love each other / one another

They hit each other

They hit each other

We help each other

We help each other

Verbo: echar un vistazo

take a look / have a look

Adjetivo: muy rojo

very red / bright red

Adjetivo: de todo tipo

all kinds of / all sorts of

True reflexive (I wash myself)

I wash myself

Reciprocal (They love each other)

they love each other

Inherent reflexive (to fall asleep)

I fall asleep (no reflexive)

You (singular informal)

you (universal) — no distinction

Hello

hello / hi / hey (informal)

Goodbye

goodbye / bye / see ya (informal)

Subject relative (The man who came)

The man who/that came

Object relative (The book that I read)

The book that/which I read

Relativized subject kept

Yes (The man who came)

Ya comí

I already ate / I have already eaten

Todavía no como / Aún no he comido

I haven't eaten yet

Todavía estoy comiendo / Aún como

I'm still eating

Direct: 'I am tired'

Direct: 'I am tired'

Reported: He said he was tired

He said he was tired (past simple)

Direct: 'I will go'

Direct: 'I will go'

So tall that...

so tall that...

So fast that...

so fast that...

Such a good book that...

such a good book that...

John broke the vase (agent + patient)

John broke the vase (agent = subject, patient = object)

The vase broke (patient = subject)

The vase broke (patient = subject)

John saw Mary (experiencer + stimulus)

John saw Mary (experiencer = subject)

Declarative (statement)

John reads a book. (SVO, falling intonation)

Yes/No question

Does John read a book? (auxiliary do, ?)

Wh-question

What is John reading? (wh-movement, auxiliary inversion)

Yes/no question

Rising intonation / ...right?

Suggestion / soft command

...okay? / Let's..., shall we?

Surprise / realization

...really?! / Oh!

Permanent identity

to be

Physical location

to be

Temporary condition

to be

Go buy something

Go and buy / Go buy

Come take a look

Come and see / Come see

Give him a book

I give him a book

Dog barking

woof woof / bow wow

Cat meowing

meow

Rooster crowing

cock-a-doodle-doo

Request (direct)

Give me the book

Request (polite)

Could you give me the book? / Would you mind giving me the book?

Apology

I'm sorry / I apologize / Excuse me

Alphabet type

Latin alphabet, 26 letters

Phoneme-grapheme correspondence

Deep orthography: rough, through, bough, cough, dough (5 pronunciations of -ough)

Spelling reform attempts

None official; Webster simplified some spellings (color/colour)

Duda/incertidumbre

It may rain (modal + verbo base)

Deseo/anhelo

I want you to come (infinitivo)

Contrario a la realidad (presente)

If I were rich, I would travel (were)

I think that he came

I think that he came (that + finite clause)

I want him to leave

I want him to leave (for-to / ECM)

Because it rained, I stayed

Because it rained, I stayed

The tallest

the tallest (-est suffix)

The most interesting

the most interesting (most + adjective)

The least important

the least important

The student reads a book

The student reads a book (SVO)

A book the student reads (topic fronting)

A book the student reads (marked, cleft-like)

The tall student quickly reads the book

The tall student quickly reads the book

When I arrived

When I arrived

Before I leave

Before I leave

After he came

After he came

What time is it?

What time is it?

It is 3:15

It's three fifteen / quarter past three

Today is Monday

Today is Monday

Basic sentence structure

Subject-prominent (SVO)

It's raining

It is raining (dummy subject)

This book, I've read

This book, I've read it (left-dislocation)

Basic word order

Strict SVO

This book, I like

This book I like / I like this book

Money, I have; time, I don't

Money I have; time I don't

I broke the vase / The vase broke

I broke the vase / The vase broke

I eat rice / I eat

I eat rice / I eat

I read books / I read

I read books / I read

Sleep (intransitive: 1 argument)

John sleeps (subject only)

Read a book (transitive: 2 arguments)

John reads a book (subject + direct object)

Give Mary a book (ditransitive: 3 arguments)

John gives Mary a book (S + IO + DO) / John gives a book to Mary

I want to leave

I want to leave (to-infinitive)

I enjoy swimming

I enjoy swimming (gerund)

I decided to stay

I decided to stay (to-infinitive)

Simple present

I speak / he speaks

Simple past

I spoke / he spoke

Simple future

I will speak

María, come here!

María, come here!

Excuse me (getting attention)

Excuse me / Hey / Pardon

Sir / Madam

sir / ma'am / miss

Pure vowel count

12+ (plus schwa and r-colored vowels)

Diphthongs

Many (ai, ei, au, ou, iə, eə, uə, etc.)

Vowel length contrast

Yes (beet vs bit, boot vs put)

What are you reading?

What are you reading? (what moved to front + auxiliary inversion)

Who came?

Who came? (who = subject, no inversion)

Where did he go?

Where did he go? (where moved + did-insertion)

I wish I were rich

I wish I were rich

I wish he would come

I wish he would come

If only I had studied

If only I had studied / I wish I had studied

Unhappy

unhappy (prefix un-)

Happiness

happiness (suffix -ness)

Teacher

teach + er (agentive suffix)

Basic order

Strict SVO

Subject omission

No (subject always required)

Adjective position

Before noun

¿Vienes?

Do you come? / Are you coming? (do-support)

¿Es esto un libro?

Is this a book? (inversión copulativa)

¿Te gusta?

Do you like it?