Basic Distinctions in English Grammar

What is a sentence? How is it different from a clause and a phrase?

A sentence is a group of words that makes complete sense. A clause is a group of words, which may or may not make complete sense. When a clause makes complete sense, it is called the independent or the main clause. A clause that does not make complete sense is called the dependent or the subordinate clause. A phrase is a group of words, which does not make complete sense.

E.g. Sam teaches English (a sentence, and an
independent clause).
Sam loves English, which is not his first language (a sentence that consists of an independent clause, "Sam loves English", a dependent clause, "which is not his first language", and a phrase, "his first language").




How is a phrase different from a clause?

A phrase is a group of words, which makes incomplete sense. It does not contain a subject or a finite verb. A clause is a group of words, which may or may not make complete sense. It contains a subject and a finite verb.

E.g. Sam loves English, which is not his first language.
There are two clauses in this sentence, viz., "Sam loves English", and "which is not his first language". In "Sam loves English", "Sam" is the subject, and "loves" is the finite verb. In "which is not his first language", "which" is the subject and "is" is the finite verb.
There is a phrase in this sentence, viz., "his first language". It does not contain a a subject or a finite verb.





What is the distinction between a subject and a predicate?
A sentence consists of a subject and a predicate. The subject is what one speaks about. The predicate is what one says about the subject.

E.g. Sam (the subject) teaches English (the predicate).

The subject is usually a noun or a noun phrase.

E.g. Sam (noun) writes poems.
The man (noun phrase) writes poems.

The predicate is the verb followed usually by the object and the complement.

E.g. Sam writes poems regularly (verb+object+complement).




What is the difference between a subject and an object?

The subject governs the verb. The object receives the action of the verb.

e.g. The lion killed the deer.
In this sentence, "the lion" is the subject that governs the verb "killed". "The deer" is the object of the verb "killed".




How is the active voice different from the passive voice?
In the active voice, the subject performs an action. In the passive voice, the subject undergoes an action.

e.g. The lion killed the deer (the subject, "the lion" performs an action, therefore the voice is active).
The deer was killed by the lion (the subject, "the deer" undergoes an action, therefore the voice is passive).




What is the difference between a transitive verb and an intransitive verb?

A transitive verb transmits action from the subject to the object. An intransitive verb does not transmit action, as it does not have an object.

e.g. I laid the book on the table (the verb "laid" transmits an action from the subject "I" to the object "the book", therefore it is transitive).
I lay in bed all day (the verb "lay" transmits no action, therefore it is intransitive).




What is the difference between a main verb and an auxiliary verb?

The main verb is the final verb in a verb phrase. The verb phrase is the sequence of an auxiliary verb and a main verb. The auxiliary verb helps the main verb.

e.g. Sam has taught English before ("has taught" is the verb phrase, "has" is the auxiliary verb, and "taught" is the main verb).




What is the difference between a finite verb and an infinitive?
The finite verb shows tense, and agrees in person and in number with the subject. It could be a single verb or a verb phrase. The infinitive does not show tense, and remains unaffected by person and number. The infinitive is a sequence of "to" followed by the base form of a verb. The base form of a verb is one which has not changed according to tense, number and person.

E.g. Maria loves to sing ("loves" is the finite verb, "to sing" is the infinitive).

When the finite verb in the previous example changes in tense, and in number, and in person, as in the following examples, the finite verb reflects these changes, while the infinitive does not.

e.g. Maria loved to sing.
       They love to sing.
       I loved to sing.




What is the distinction between the present participle and the gerund?
Both the present participle and the gerund are "-ing" forms of a verb. The present participle is used to form continuous tenses, and to act as an adjective. The gerund is used in the place of a noun.

e.g. He was walking towards me ("walking" is a present participle in the verb phrase, "was walking", which is in the past continuous tense).
After the accident, I had to use a walking stick ("walking" is a present participle, which functions as an adjective, which qualifies the noun "stick").
Walking is a good exercise ("walking" is a gerund, as it functions as a noun, which governs the verb "is").

From Indian English to Native English - T and D

Indian speakers of English tend to curl the tips of their tongues backwards when they make the sound “t” and "d". As a result their “t” and "d" sound a lot harder than the “t” and "d" of native English speakers. The act of curling back the tip of the tongue in the production of such sounds is called retroflexion. People who speak English as a mother tongue do not curl back the tips of their tongues in the production of "t" and "d".

To produce “t” and "d" as a native speaker of English would, one must place the tip of one’s tongue, without curling it backward, on the bony ridge-like projection just above the back of the front upper teeth. This would seal off the airflow through the mouth momentarily. It is important that the oral passage is blocked so that when the closure is released there is an explosion of air from the mouth. The “t” of British and American speakers of English is a voiceless explosive sound. A voiceless sound is one which is produced without audible vibration of the vocal cords. The Indian “t” is also voiceless and explosive, but harder than its native English counterpart on account of the curling back of the tip of the tongue. The tip that is curled back is placed against the palate (the roof of the mouth) effecting a closure of the oral tract. Then air is released with an explosion. The "d" of British and American English is a voiced explosive sound. A voiced sound is one that is produced with audible vibration of the vocal cords. The Indian "d" is also voiced and explosive, but harder than its native English counterpart as a result of the curling back of the tip of the tongue.

Essentially the difference between the “t” and "d" of native English and the Indian equivalents lies not in the manner but in the place of articulation. Both types of sounds are explosive in nature. However the tip of the tongue is placed against the teeth ridge in the production of the native English “t”, while the tip of the tongue is curled back against the hard palate (the hard front portion of the palate as opposed to the soft back portion) in the production of the Indian equivalents.

"T" and "D" in Indian English

Indian speakers of English tend to curl the tips of their tongues backwards when they make the sound “t” and "d". As a result their “t” and "d" sound a lot harder than the “t” and "d" of native English speakers. The act of curling back the tip of the tongue in the production of such sounds is called retroflexion. People who speak English as a mother tongue do not curl back the tips of their tongues in the production of "t" and "d".

To produce “t” and "d" as a native speaker of English would, one must place the tip of one’s tongue, without curling it backward, on the bony ridge-like projection just above the back of the front upper teeth. This would seal off the airflow through the mouth momentarily. It is important that the oral passage is blocked so that when the closure is released there is an explosion of air from the mouth. The “t” of British and American speakers of English is a voiceless explosive sound. A voiceless sound is one which is produced without audible vibration of the vocal cords. The Indian “t” is also voiceless and explosive, but harder than its native English counterpart on account of the curling back of the tip of the tongue. The tip that is curled back is placed against the palate (the roof of the mouth) effecting a closure of the oral tract. Then air is released with an explosion. The "d" of British and American English is a voiced explosive sound. A voiced sound is one that is produced with audible vibration of the vocal cords. The Indian "d" is also voiced and explosive, but harder than its native English counterpart as a result of the curling back of the tip of the tongue.

Essentially the difference between the “t” and "d" of native English and the Indian equivalents lies not in the manner but in the place of articulation. Both types of sounds are explosive in nature. However the tip of the tongue is placed against the teeth ridge in the production of the native English “t”, while the tip of the tongue is curled back against the hard palate (the hard front portion of the palate as opposed to the soft back portion) in the production of the Indian equivalents.

Samuel Godfrey George

British and American English - Differences In Pronunciation

These are some of the differences between standard British and standard American English pronunciation.

The sound "a" in "fast" is pronounced differently. The long "a" in the British "fast", which is the same sound as the "a" in "calm" becomes a short "a" in the American "fast", which is the same sound as the "a" in "rat". Some examples of this difference are: "mask", "rant", "demand" and "laughter".

The vowel in "know" which is pronounced with slightly spread lips in British English becomes a rounded vowel in American English. Some examples of this difference are "note", "boat" "motor" and "grotesque".

The "t" of British English is an explosive sound and is produced by the tip of the tongue placed against the bony ridge behind the upper front teeth with a closure of air in the oral cavity with a sudden release of air causing explosion. The "t" of American English is called a tap, as the tongue tip briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth without any explosion. Some examples of this difference are "letter", "later", "meeting" and "seated". The tap of American English may seem similar to the "d" of British and American English, but the difference lies in the fact that "d"  in both varieties is a sound produced with explosion while the American "t" is not. Examples of this are "seated" and "seeded" where the "d" in the latter is harder than the d-like "t" in the former.

The "r" that occurs after a vowel in British English is not pronounced. But the same "r" is pronounced in American English with the curling back of the tip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth or the palate, specifically the hard front portion of the palate. Consider the following examples: "meter", "nature", "ordained" and "porter". The "r" in all these examples is silent in British English and is articulated in American English.

Samuel Godfrey George

What is good speech?

How I Trained My Voice

The Way I Learned To Speak English

If You Want To Speak English Well

As an English teacher I say to my students, "Listen to people who speak English well. Listen to native speakers of English. Listen to speakers of standard English. Listen first and speak later. Listen well and imitate bravely. Be eager to speak well. Be ready to make mistakes when you try to speak better. Don't give up when it gets difficult. Be a consistent trier. And you'll succeed."

Decide what English you want to speak. Do you want to speak American English or British English? Do you want to speak the standard variety of English or a non-standard variety? Do you want to speak educated English or colloquial English? And then find people who speak the variety of English that you desire to speak. You may find them in real life or on television or in the movies. Wherever you find them, listen to them carefully. Find out the differences between the way they speak and the way you speak. Note down the differences. And carefully try to imitate their way of speaking. You may not succeed at first. You may in fact find yourself making mistakes. You may even be embarrassed by your awkward imitation. But don’t give up. Keep trying till you sound more and more like the people you want to sound like. Let your desire guide you to your goal, when the difficulties arise.

When you were a child you observed your parents speak a certain language. And one day you started to imitate their speech. You first listened and later spoke. Listening should always come before speaking. Good listening will result in good speaking. So listen carefully to the kind of English you wish to speak. And then speak it by imitating the sounds you hear. Your performance may be awkward at first. But you must not be deterred by any unfavourable reaction to your flawed speech. It is important that you do not lose confidence in the task of learning to speak a foreign language. Believe that you can speak it if you try repeatedly. And believe that you will succeed to speak it well if you don’t give up. Remember that you must crawl before you can walk.

I say to my students who want to learn to speak English well, "You will have to fall in love with English to speak it well. Love for English cannot be optional. It is utterly necessary. Yet you cannot summon that love if you are not attracted to English."

Those who want to speak English well in order to advance in life may not get to speak it well. It is only those who want to be around English all the time, who will get to do that. Such an attitude is called love. And that is what is needed. You need to love English first. But that is not the end of the story. There is such a thing as a gift for learning a language that is not your own. If you have that gift, you will listen carefully and imitate bravely. Your imitation is unlikely to be immediately correct. But you will have to keep trying, and in the process you will have to be ready to take criticism, even unkind criticism. Be bold and determined to speak English. It may take some time, so be patient and wait for the time when your imitation of English will become acceptable to all. You may only be able to approximate the type of English that you wish to speak. You may never achieve a native-like competency in speaking English. Let that not deter you from going as far as you can. And that should be your goal. For it is impossible for many to speak a foreign language as one would speak a native language.

To speak English well for the purpose of advancing in life and doing well in one’s workplace is a motivation that drives many learners of English as a second or a foreign language. It may indeed spark off the desire to learn English and may even result in a certain improvement in one’s performance as a speaker of English. Yet it may not lead to any great level of competence in spoken English. Such a progress may only be attainable for those who are persistent lovers of the English language, and who are irresistibly drawn to the sounds of English, and who will surround themselves with those sounds all the time in their lives. The sounds of English that you wish to imitate must become an all-pervading reality in your life. You should take in these sounds as you take in air, and you should let them become a part of you. Only such an invasion of sounds can bring about an inner revolution in the way you perceive English, and will ultimate affect the way you perform it in speech.

Good speech flows from good thinking. So learn to think clearly and concisely, for your communication to be quickly and correctly understood. One of the biggest mistakes we can make is to speak too soon. We speak too soon because we arrive at a conclusion too soon. Let us cultivate the habit of thinking about something and thinking about it again and again until we know what we are dealing with. And then let us speak slowly voicing precisely our thoughts.

As a speaker of English, I yearn for extreme economy in expression, the simplest and the most direct communication of thoughts. There was a time in my life when I preferred complexity. Complex sentences, long circuitous expressions and strange words captured me. Now all that I seek is the very minimum of expression, in the most direct manner with the most familiar vocabulary. I now desire simplicity. And I believe I am communicating more efficiently as a result.

A good speaker of English is not only someone who produces the sounds as they ought to be produced. He is also someone who knows how to use his words, and how to convey them to others. Good speech is not just a matter of pronunciation, stress and intonation, it is also a matter of acceptability and appropriacy. Above all it is shaped by human thought. And good thought abounds in clarity and simplicity, and good speech must also abound in these qualities.

Good speech in English or any other language demands more than clear and appropriate expression. It calls for polite, constructive dialogue. We communicate not only to voice our thoughts and feelings, but also to build one another up with our words of encouragement and approval. Language is optimally used to bridge gaps and bring people together in harmony. So above all good communication should be aimed at producing social harmony and should not merely be content with producing the right sounds and tunes.

Learn to speak well. But bear this mind. Speaking well is equal to loving well. Speak in order to build one another up. Speak to encourage and cheer another. Speak so that another might learn from you. But before you speak listen. Listen well and learn from the one who is speaking to you. For good speech is good imitation of good thoughts expressed acceptably, appropriately and lovingly. Let communication not merely be a matter of articulating sounds accurately with the vocal organs precisely positioned. Let it be a matter of hearts and minds desiring to be in union with one another.

Let your language learning not only be a stepping stone to a better opportunity in life, but also let it lead you to a better understanding of human beings. Language is not only a breaker of barriers, but also an erector of barriers. Whether we use language to embrace people or marginalize them is entirely up to us. Or will we use language just for furthering our own goals without thinking about helping others? Language learning is only a part of a higher learning that we are expected to participate in, in the course of our lives. We are to learn the ultimate truth - that we cannot survive on our own, that others need us as we need them. Let us use the power that language brings to empower people to express their potential. This is what will bring a lasting smile to our lips before we leave this world.

We begin our lives by thinking about our own advancement. But let us not stop there. Let us consider the advancement of others, and do what we can to make that possible. Whatever be our goal, whether it is language learning or skill acquisition, let us reach our goals not only for our benefit, but also for the benefit of others. To grow best, we need to grow with others. And we enjoy the benefits of our growth when we see others grow.

It is not learning to speak English that has made me happy. Initially it did bring happiness. But now my happiness lies in understanding others and helping them discover themselves. Everyone is uniquely gifted and is able to do something worthwhile in this world. If language learning helps someone do this, then it is indeed a worthwhile occupation. But let language proficiency not be an end in itself. Let the ability to speak a language lead to greater searching and sharing. Let us use language to minister to the needs of others and harness their hidden potential. Let us enable them with language to do the same for those who are still undiscovered.

Samuel Godfrey George