In this lesson, we will go through the basics of English grammar. This will help you for the MBA entrance tests as well as the subsequent sections (Written Aptitude Test, Group Discussion and Personal Interview). Grammar is directly applied in questions such as Sentence Correction and Replacement, Fill in the Blanks and Word Usage Match within the Verbal Ability section. In addition, a thorough knowledge of grammar will also help you in reasoning-based sections such as Reading Comprehension and Jumbled Paragraphs.
We will cover the parts of speech and the basic units of sentences such as phrases and clauses.
The common classes of word or parts of speech in English grammar are:
1) Nouns
2) Pronouns
3) Verbs
4) Adjectives
5) Adverbs
6) Articles
7) Determiners
8) Prepositions
9) Conjunctions
10) Interjections
There were nine Parts of Speech traditionally. Determiners came up recently, as grammarians felt the need for an additional part of speech. All words fall into one or more of these categories. Some words can be used as more than one part of speech. Let's study these parts of speech in detail.
1. Nouns
Nouns are words used to describe people, animals, things, places, ideas or events. Most things that you see around you are nouns, as are concepts.
Example: country, India, river, Ganges, APJ Abdul Kalam, freedom, bravery, sand, etc.
Babar was the first Mughal emperor in India.
Germany and Italy were allies during World War I.
Every child must learn to read and write.
Gold is one of the world's most expensive metals.
Shakespeare is probably the world's most famous playwright.
(The nouns are underlined in the above examples).
There are different types of nouns, based on what they are referring to. The main types are:
Common nouns are generic names of things, places, people and living creatures. They describe a class of living beings or things.
Example: country, mountain, doctor, student, desk, etc.
Proper nouns are specific names of things, places, people and living creatures. They describe specific examples of common nouns.
Example: India, Himalayas, Dr. Dash, Meera, etc.
Concrete nouns are nouns that can be perceived through one or more of our five senses (i.e., these can be either seen, heard, felt/touched, smelt or tasted).
Example: gold, wall, soil, salt, rose, etc.
Abstract nouns are nouns that cannot be perceived through one or more of our five senses. These include concepts and emotions.
Example: liberty, equality, fraternity, anger, happiness, etc.
Abstract nouns typically describe concepts (slavery), ideas (freedom), emotions (fear), qualities (kindness).
Collective nouns are groups of things, people or places.
Example: crowd, mob, flock, fleet, herd, etc.
Material nouns are nouns which refer to a material or a substance. They are typically concrete nouns.
Example: wood, metal, copper, sand, etc.
Countable nouns are nouns which can be counted.
Example: students, apples, cars, etc.
Uncountable nouns are nouns which cannot be counted.
Example: glass, water, bread, etc.
Uncountable nouns can be paired with countable nouns (a pane of glass, a jug of water, loaves of bread).
A noun can be classified into more than one of these subdivisions (e.g. wood is both a concrete and a material noun, freedom is both an abstract and an uncountable noun). These subdivisions need not be memorised for MBA entrance exams – it is just for your understanding.
Many nouns can also be categorised as singular/plural, masculine/feminine, etc. We have covered these distinctions, along with examples and rules in the Grammar Rules lesson within this section.
Nouns are a fundamental Part of Speech – many adjectives and adverbs are formed from nouns (e.g., happy from happiness, greedy from greed, free from freedom, brave from bravery). All sentences will usually have a noun or a pronoun, which is what the sentence will be about.
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