english syntax

1. TYPES OF NOUNS DEFINITIONS EXAMPLES
PROPER A specific person ,
place or thing
Mary, Rosa
COMMON A general person,
place or thing.
Car, dog
COMPOUND Two or more words
that create one noun.
Toothpaste,
postoffice
COUNTABLE Can be counted. Book, lemon
UNCOUNTABLE Cannot be counted Sadness, milk
COLLECTIVE Group of things Team, family
CONCRETE Can be seen,
felt,heard,smelled or
tasted
Tomato, table
ABSTRACT Cannot be seen, felt,
heard, smelled or
tasted
Love,freedom

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SUBJECT PRONOUNS
(I, YOU,HE,SHE,IT,WE,THEY )
Take the place of subject
nouns.
She likes pizza too much.
OBJECT PRONOUNS
(me,you,him,her,it,us,them)
Take the place
inmediately after nouns.
He loves me.
POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
(mine,yours,his,hers,its,ours,theirs)
Used to express
possession
The book is mine.
REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
(myself,yourself,himself,itself,ourselves
,yourselves,themselves)
Refers back to the subject
when used in a sentence
I hurt myself.
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
(That,which,who,whatever,etc)
Introduce a relative
clause
The man who wears blue
Jeans
DEMONSTRATIVE
PRONOUNS.(This,that,these,tho
se)
We use to indicate the
person,thing or placed
referred to.
This is my car.
Those are my friends.
INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
( Everyone,anybody,either,etc)
Refer to people or things
in general
I don´t know anybody.
INTERROGATIVE
PRONOUNS(Who,what,which,et
c)
Are used in asking
questions
Who is your father?
What is it?
RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS
(each other, one another)
Used to express relationship in which
something is done by each of two or
more
Parties towards the other or others.

3. PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES
(PREPOSITIONS + NOUN PHRASES)
ADJECTIVE PHRASES
• NEXT TO NOUNS TO
IDENTIFY THEM.
Ex:
The house next to mine is
white.
I gave her the book with red
cover.
ADVERB PHRASES
• Act as an adverb to tell
where,when,how, to what
extent or frecuency the
action of the verb is done..
Ex:
I went to the supermarket.
I study at night.
He studied until midnight.

4. SOME USES OF PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES
• PHRASES FOLLOWING BE.- They are introduced in sentences which have the verb be.
These are called the adverb of place or the adverb of purpose.EX: This gift is for you.
( purpose )
My friend is at the hospital. ( place)
• INDIRECT OBJECTS.- The prepositions for and to are used to introduced indirect
objects when they follow transitive verbs.EX: I gave the money to my father.
This poem is for her.
• POSSESSIVES.- Usually the preposition of is used to indicate possession.
Ex: The brother of my friend is an engineer.
• BY PHRASES.- Here the preposition by is used to express location, manner, motion,
passives.Ex: He came by bus.
She was hurt by her own husband.
• MULTIPLE PREPOSITIONS.-Prepositional phrases themselves could be the object of
prepositions. Ex: The dog barked from behind the door.
• MULTIPLE PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES.-Some prepositional phrases can go naturally in
pairs.Ex: He went to the car next to mine.
• NEGATIVE USES.- Some prepositional phrases can be attached to negative sentences.
They are used to emphasize the negative aspect of the sentence.
Ex: I don´t understand anything at all.

5. PHRASAL VERBS
A phrasal verb is verb combined with a preposition or adverb and together has its own
special meaning.
SOME PHRASAL VERB FORMS
• SEPARABLE.- Nouns come between the verbs and the particles.
Ex: she put the book away.
• NON-SEPARABLE.- The verb and the particle cannot be separated.
Ex: He came across me.
• PHRASAL VERBS WITHOUT OBJECTS.- In this case they do not take an object.
Ex: I went away.
• PHRASAL VERBS WITH OBJECTS.- The phrasal takes an object.
Ex: Tom pulled off the sticker.
• PHRASAL VERBS –INTRANSITIVES.-The phrasal is not followed by a noun or an
object. Ex: She suddenly fell down
• PHRASAL VERBS-TRANSITIVES.- It´s followed by a noun or object. The preposition
cannot be separated from the verb.Ex: Put on your hat. The adverb particle can be
separated. Ex: She washed the stain away.
• THREE WORD PHRASAL VERB.-Three-word phrasal verbs are non-separable.
Ex: My brother hangs out with his friends every night.

6. INDIRECT OBJECTS
( They´re noun phrases to whom the action of the verb is done)
• Indirect objects following prepositions ( to, for)
Ex: Tom gave a kiss to Mary.
• Indirect objects following objects of transitive verbs. It´s not
possible when the object of the transitive verb is a pronoun.
Ex: Tom gave Mary a kiss .