Content Flashcards
what is a common noun? give an example
a general name for a person, place, thing, or idea, rather than a specific name. It does not begin with a capital letter unless it’s at the start of a sentence.
Examples: book (general name for a thing), city (general name for a place), teacher (general name for a person)
These contrast with proper nouns, which are specific names like Harry or London
what is a proper noun? and give example
the specific name of a particular person, place, organization, or thing. It is always capitalized, no matter where it appears in a sentence.
Examples:
- London (specific city)
- William Shakespeare (specific person)
- Amazon (specific company)
Proper nouns are different from common nouns, which refer to general items or categories, like city or writer
what is a concrete noun? and give example
a noun that refers to a physical object or something that can be perceived by the senses (seen, heard, touched, tasted, or smelled).
Essentially, it represents things that have a material form.
Examples of concrete nouns:
- Apple (something you can see and touch)
- Dog (an animal you can hear and touch)
- Music (something you can hear)
These contrast with abstract nouns, which refer to ideas, qualities, or concepts, like love or freedom
what is an abstract noun? give an example
refers to an idea, quality, feeling, or concept that cannot be perceived by the five senses (you can’t see, touch, taste, hear, or smell it). Abstract nouns represent intangible things.
Examples of abstract nouns:
- Love (a feeling)
- Freedom (a concept)
- Happiness (an emotion)
what is a collective noun? and example?
a group of individuals or things considered as a single unit. It describes a collection of entities taken together as one.
Examples:
- Team (a group of players)
- Family (a group of related individuals)
- Flock (a group of birds)
what is a modal verb? and example
used to express necessity, possibility, permission, or ability. Modals do not change form based on subject (they are “defective” verbs) and are followed by a base verb without “to.”
Examples:
- Can (ability) — “She can speak three languages.”
- Should (advice) — “You should apologize.”
- Must (obligation) — “They must submit their work by Friday.”
Modal verbs add nuance to the meaning of the main verb, indicating degrees of certainty, obligation, or permission.
what is a stative verb? and examples
Stative Verb:
refers to a state of being, thought, or emotion, rather than an action. These verbs often describe conditions that are not changing or dynamic and are usually not used in continuous tenses (e.g., being, knowing, loving).
Examples of stative verbs:
- Know — “She knows the answer.”
- Love — “I love music.”
- Believe — “They believe in hard work.”
Stative verbs describe mental states, relationships, or possessions that are constant or unchanging.
what is a dynamic verb? give examples
Dynamic Verb:
A dynamic verb expresses a physical action, process, or event that can change over time. These verbs are often used in continuous tenses and describe activities or actions that can be started and stopped.
Examples of dynamic verbs:
- Run — “They are running in the park.”
- Write — “She writes essays every day.”
- Eat — “They are eating lunch.”
Dynamic verbs represent activities or processes that require some form of physical or mental effort and can occur over time.
what is an auxiliary verb? and give examples
(or helping verb) is used to form tenses, moods, voices, or questions of a main verb. The most common auxiliary verbs are be, have, and do. They help modify the meaning of the main verb in terms of time, aspect, or modality.
Examples of auxiliary verbs:
- Be — “She is working on her project.”
- Have — “They have finished the task.”
- Do — “He does not know the answer.”
Auxiliary verbs are crucial in forming complex verb structures like the perfect, progressive, or passive voice.
what is an adverb? and examples
a word that modifies or gives more information about a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or even a whole sentence. It often describes how, when, where, to what extent, or under what conditions something happens. Adverbs can help specify time, manner, place, frequency, degree, or cause.
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Adverbs of Manner (how something happens):
- Example: “She sings beautifully.”
- The adverb beautifully modifies the verb sings by explaining how she sings.
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Adverbs of Time (when something happens):
- Example: “We will leave tomorrow.”
- The adverb tomorrow modifies the verb leave by explaining when we will leave.
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Adverbs of Place (where something happens):
- Example: “They searched everywhere.”
- The adverb everywhere modifies the verb searched by explaining where they searched.
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Adverbs of Frequency (how often something happens):
- Example: “She always wakes up early.”
- The adverb always modifies the verb wakes up by explaining how often she wakes up.
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Adverbs of Degree (to what extent something happens):
- Example: “The water was extremely cold.”
- The adverb extremely modifies the adjective cold by explaining the degree of coldness.
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Sentence Adverbs (modifying the whole sentence, often to express the speaker’s attitude):
- Example: “Fortunately, we arrived on time.”
- The adverb fortunately modifies the entire sentence, expressing the speaker’s opinion.
- Many adverbs end in -ly, though not all (e.g., fast, well).
- Adverbs can appear at different positions within a sentence, depending on what they modify.
Adverbs add precision and depth to sentences, allowing more detailed and nuanced expression.
what is a comparative adjective? and examples
used to compare two things, showing that one has a higher or lower degree of a certain quality than the other.
How to form comparative adjectives:
- For short adjectives (one syllable), add -er to the end.
- Example: fast → faster
- “John is faster than Peter.”
- For longer adjectives (two syllables or more), use more before the adjective.
- Example: beautiful → more beautiful
- “This painting is more beautiful than that one.”
Examples of comparative adjectives:
- “This chair is taller than that one.”
- “She is more intelligent than her classmates.”
what is a superlative adjective? and examples
used to compare three or more things, indicating that one has the highest or lowest degree of a certain quality.
How to form superlative adjectives:
- For short adjectives (one syllable), add -est to the end.
- Example: fast → fastest
- “John is the fastest runner in the race.”
- For longer adjectives (two syllables or more), use most before the adjective.
- Example: beautiful → most beautiful
- “This is the most beautiful painting in the gallery.”
Examples of superlative adjectives:
- “That is the tallest building in the city.”
- “She is the most talented singer in the competition.”
what is an adjective? and examples?
a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun by providing more detail about its qualities, quantity, or state. Adjectives can specify attributes like size, color, number, or emotion.
- Size: large, tiny — “The large house.”
- Color: red, blue — “A red apple.”
- Quantity: three, many — “Three books.”
- Emotion: happy, angry — “A happy child.”
Adjectives help to paint a clearer picture of the noun or pronoun they modify.
