English Grammar Modifiers

Parts of Speech in English

English sentences are made up of words. Each word, in turn, is a part of speech. Here’s a quick review of the main parts of speech.

Category	Definition	Examples
Noun	A person, place, thing, quality or act	student, park, chair, kindness
Verb	An action or existence word	go, run, be, drink, study, feel
Adjective	A word that describes a noun	a happy person, a sunny day
Adverb	A word that describes a verb, adjective, or adverb	He drives carefully. She speaks English well.
Conjunction	A word that joins words, phrases, or clauses	John and Mary, tea or coffee I like you but I cannot go out with you.
Preposition	A word that describes a relationship between a noun and a noun, verb, or adverb	in, on, at, into, beside, above, below, with
Interjection	A word that describes a sudden utterance	Oh!Ah!
Pronoun	A word that replaces a noun or noun phrase	I admire Lili. She is an intelligent woman. Where is John? He is at the clinic.

                                               

                       

Verbs Followed by Infinitives

8 = verb followed by an infinitive OR an optional noun + an infinitive

13 = verb followed by a gerund OR an infinitive with a difference in meaning
14 = verb followed by a gerund OR an infinitive with little difference in meaning

agree	Tom agreed to help me.
appear	His health appeared to be better.
arrange	Naomi arranged to stay with her cousin in Miami.
ask [8]	She asked to leave.
begin [13]	He began to talk.
can't bear [14]	He can't bear to be alone.
can't stand [14]	Nancy can't stand to work the late shift.
care	He doesn't care to participate in the activity.
cease [14]	The government ceased to provide free healthcare.
choose [8]	I chose to help.
claim	She claimed to be a princess.
continue [14]	She continued to talk.
decide	We decided to go to Hawaii.
demand	He demanded to speak to Mr. Harris.
deserve	He deserves to go to jail.
dread [13]	I dread to think what might happen.
expect [8]	They expect to arrive early.
fail	He failed to get enough money to pay for the new project.
forget [13]	I forgot to lock the door when I left.
get (be allowed to)	Debbie gets to go to the concert next week! Why can't I?
happen	She happened to be at the bank when it was robbed.
hate [14]	He hates to clean dishes.
hesitate	She hesitated to tell me the problem.
hope	I hope to begin college this year.
intend	We intend to visit you next spring.
learn	I learned to speak Japanese when I was a kid.
like [14]	Samantha likes to read.
love [14]	We love to scuba dive.
manage	He managed to open the door without the key.
need [8,13]	I need to study.
neglect [14]	She neglected to tell me the date of the meeting.
offer	Frank offered to drive us to the supermarket.
plan	We plan to go to Europe this summer.
prefer [14]	He prefers to eat at 7 PM.
prepare [8]	They prepared to take the test.
pretend	The child pretended to be a monster.
promise [8]	She promised to stop smoking.
propose [14]	Drew proposed to pay for the trip.
refuse	The guard refused to let them enter the building.
regret [13]	I regret to inform you that your application was rejected.
remember [13]	Did you remember to lock the door when you left?
seem	Nancy seemed to be disappointed.
start [13]	Marge started to talk really fast.
swear	She swore to tell the truth.
tend	He tends to be a little shy.
threaten [8]	He threatened to leave forever.
try [13]	Mary tried to lift the table, but it was too heavy.
vow	He vowed to get revenge.
wait	She waited to buy a movie ticket.
want [8]	I want to study Spanish.
wish [8]	I wish to stay.
would like [8] (meaning "wish" or "want")	We would like to start now.
yearn	Melanie yearns to travel somewhere exotic.

Verbs followed by a gerund (gerund-participle) verb form

Admit:   He admitted smoking marijuana.	Delay:  They delayed leaving.
Like:   *I like learning languages.	Recommend:  I recommend staying.
Advise: †He advised going to college.	Deny:   He denied stealing it.
Love:  *We love going on vacation.	Regret:  *I regret not being there.
Allow:    †They allowed smoking outside.	Deserve:  He deserves being in jail.
Mention:   He mentioned having dogs.	Remember:  **I remember hearing it.
Anticipate:  I anticipate having fun.	Detest:  She detests exercising.
Mind: Do you mind smoking there?	Resent:    ††I resent being left alone.
Appreciate: She appreciates having help.	Discuss:  We discussed going out.
Miss:  I miss being home.	Resist:  I resist eating too much.
Avoid:  We avoid asking for help.	Dislike:   He dislikes dressing up.
Neglect:  *I neglected doing my work.	Risk:  He risked losing everything.
Begin: *I begin working tomorrow.	Enjoy:  She enjoys dressing up.
Postpone:  I postponed having kids.	Start:  *We started taking walks.
Can’t bear:  I can't bear hearing lies.	Escape: He escaped getting married.
Practice:  I practice playing the piano.	Stop:  **He stopped smoking.
Can’t help:  I can't help sneezing.	Finish:  We finished watching TV.
Prefer:  *We prefer eating early.	Suggest:   He suggested chewing gum.
Can’t stand:  I can't stand waiting.	Forget:  **I forgot turning the light off.
Prevent:   Vaccinations prevent getting ill.	Support:  He supported going to war.
Celebrate: He celebrated getting a job.	Imagine:  He imagined being free.
Prohibit: They prohibit parking here.	Tolerate:  We don't tolerate cheating.
Complete: He completed reading it.	Hate:  *She hates being alone.
Quit: I quit smoking.	Try:  We tried eating snails.
Consider: He won't consider helping.	Keep:  We keep trusting him.
Recall:  She recalls being young.	Understand: I understand getting mad.

Conditional Sentence Type III

Conditional Type III

Form

if + Past Perfect, main clause with Conditional II

Example: If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.

The main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case, don't use a comma.

Example: I would have sent her an invitation if I had found her address.

Note: Main clause and / or if clause might be negative. See Past Perfect and Conditional II on how to form negative sentences.

Example: If I hadn’t studied, I wouldn’t have passed my exams.

1.     If the midfielders had passed the ball more exactly, our team would have had more chances to attack.

2.     If the forwards had run faster, they would have scored more goals.

3.     Their motivation would have improved if they had kicked a goal during the first half.

4.     The fullbacks would have prevented one or the other goal if they had marked their opponents.

5.     If the goalie had jumped up, he would have caught the ball.

6.     If the referee had seen the foul, he would have awarded a penalty kick to our team.

7.     Our team would have been in better form if they had trained harder the weeks before.

8.     The game would have become better if the trainer had sent a substitute in during the second half.

9.     If it had been a home game, our team would have won the match.

10.  If our team had won the match, they would have moved up in the league.

11. If you had studied for the test, you would have passed it. 

12. If you had asked me, I would have helped you. 

13. If we had gone to the cinema, we would have seen my friend Jacob. 

14. If you had spoken English, she would have understood. 

15. If they had listened to me, we would have been home earlier. 

16. I would have written you a postcard if I had had your address. 

17. If I had not broken my leg, I would have taken part in the contest. 

18. If it had not started to rain, we would have walked to the museum. 

19. We would have swum in the sea if there had not been so many sharks there. 

20. If she had taken the bus, she would not have arrived on time. 

Conditional Sentence Type II

Conditional Type II

Form

if + Simple Past, main clause with Conditional I (= would + Infinitive)

Example: If I found her address, I would send her an invitation.

The main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case, don't use a comma.

Example: I would send her an invitation if I found her address.

1.     If I played the lottery, I would have a chance to hit the jackpot.

2.     If I hit the jackpot, I would be rich.

3.     If I were rich, my life would change completely.

4.     I would buy a lonely island, if I found a nice one.

5.     If I owned a lonely island, I would build a huge house by the beach.

6.     I would invite all my friends if I had a house by the beach.

7.     I would pick my friends up in my yacht if they wanted to spend their holidays on my island.

8.     We would have great parties if my friends came to my island.

9.     If we liked to go shopping in a big city, we would charter a helicopter.

10.  But if my friends' holidays were over, I would feel very lonely on my lonely island.

11. If we had a yacht, we would sail the seven seas. 

12. If he had more time, he would learn karate. 

13. If they told their father, he would be very angry. 

14. She would spend a year in the USA if it was easier to get a green card. 

15. If I lived on a lonely island, I would run around naked all day. 

16. We would help you if we knew how. 

17. My brother would buy a sports car if he had the money. 

18. If I felt better, I would go to the cinema with you. 

19. If you went by bike more often, you would not be so flabby. 

20. She would not talk to you if she was mad at you. 

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