II. English THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

Elements of Syntax
1. The simple sentence is the smallest complete unit of English words. Anything less than a
complete, simple sentence will fail to coherently communicate a complete thought. For example,
“preachers singers” or “speak sing” fail to communicate a complete thought, whereas “preachers
speak” and “singers sing” are proper simple sentences and communicate a complete thought.
2. The simple sentence is composed of two parts. In this context, the subject of a sentence
names what the sentence is about. The predicate of a sentence tells us what we should know
about the subject. While this is by no means an absolute rule, the subject of a sentence generally
starts at the beginning of the sentence and ends at the verb. Accordingly, the predicate of a
sentence commonly begins at the verb and continues to the end of a sentence. Consider the
following examples.
Table 1 – Subjects & Predicates
# SUBJECT PREDICATE
1 Jesus wept.
2 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
3 [Understood – You] Preach the word.
4 God is light.
5 God hath not given us the spirit of fear.
3. As demonstrated in Table 1, the subject part of the sentence contains the subject, sometimes
in the form of a noun (1). The subject also may contain adjectives, phrases, and even clauses
pertaining to the subject (2). In some sentences, like imperatives, the subject may not even
appear in the text, but it can be inferred from the context (3). Types of nouns and other subjects
will be discussed in future lessons. The term that could, by itself, be the subject of the sentence
is often called the simple subject to distinguish it from the complete subject, which includes all
words not in the predicate (2).
4. The verb of the sentence relates the “subject thought” to the “predicate thought”. As
demonstrated in Table 1, the verb may simply name an action done by or to the subject (1). The
verb may also relate without action. The verb may equate two thoughts or compare the subject
and predicate thoughts in a descriptive sense (4). The types and rules of verbs will be discussed
in a later lesson.
5. A predicate may also contain a direct object. The direct object is that which is directly
related to the subject by the verb. In Sentence 2, “heaven” and “earth” are those things that were
created by God, making them the direct objects of the sentence. In Sentence 3, the “word” is that
which is to be preached, making it the direct object of the sentence. You can usually find the
direct object by asking the question, “what?” God created what? Answer: the heavens and the
earth – your direct object. Not all sentences have a direct object.
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6. A predicate may also contain an indirect object. In Sentence 5, “the spirit of fear” is the
direct object because it is that which directly results (or in this cause does “not” result) from the
verb. God hath not given what? Answer: the spirit of fear. The word “us” identifies to whom
the spirit of fear has (not) been given. “Us” is then the indirect object of the sentence. The
indirect object is usually the answer to the question, to whom?
Not all sentences have an indirect object. Usually, you would not have an indirect object
without a direct object.
7. Sentences do not have to be simple in class or nature. You may run across very confusing
sentences that are still simple sentences in type. Later lessons will address complex sentences
(sentences with one or more dependent clauses and an independent clause), compound sentences
(sentences with two or more independent clauses), and compound-complex sentences (sentences
with multiple dependent and independent clauses). The simple sentence is still the basic pattern
for the English sentence.
APPLICATION:
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my
name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I
have said unto you.
This sentence is complicated, but we can examine the independent clause like a simple sentence.
“He shall teach you all things.” The pronoun, “He”, is identified as the Comforter and the Holy
Ghost. “He”, as the subject, “shall teach”, our verb. What will be taught? Answer: “all things”
– the direct object. Who will be taught? Answer: “you”, the indirect object. To understand the
passage, one must answer the question: Who is “you”? In later lessons, we will learn that to
understand a pronoun, you must find its antecedent. For now, we have learned that the
Comforter was promised to whoever “you” is in this context.

I. PARTS OF SPEECH english

The following is intended to be a list, not so much a lesson. Entire lessons will be devoted to the
terms below later in this book. For now, just read and learn the terms. If you finish and feel a
little confused, just be patient!
1. The English language divides its words into nine classes: noun, adjective, pronoun, verb,
verbal, adverb, preposition, conjunction, interjection. This section will give an overview of the
classes, but a detailed study will be left for later in the text. It should be noted that this
classification is somewhat arbitrary. Some texts will arrange things differently, but this list will
at least give you the general idea.
2. A noun names some entity, such as person, place, or thing. A noun in this sense is merely a
name, whether specific or common. Examples: Bartholomew, Bethlehem, baptistery.
3. An adjective modifies a noun or pronoun. By modify, I mean that the adjective describes or
distinguishes the noun or pronoun it modifies. For instance, the noun “car” includes all that falls
under the classification “car”. However, “fast car”, where the adjective “fast” modifies the noun
“car”, limits the noun under consideration to just those cars that are fast. Examples: tall, small,
red.
4. A pronoun replaces a noun, usually for convenience sake. Rather than repeat the noun,
“establishmentarianism”, in every related sentence, one could simply insert the pronoun “it” in
the place of the noun. Examples: he, she, it.
5. A verb expresses action. The action does not have to be physical or even pertain to motion.
A verb can describe spiritual or mental processes. Verbs can also express being or state, as with
the verb “is”. Example: be, hit, repent.
6. A verbal is a word that comes from a verb, but it has the properties of another part of speech.
The three kinds of verbals are gerunds, infinitives, and participles. A gerund acts as a noun. An
infinitive acts somewhat like a noun as well. However, the participle is a modifier relates an
action to whatever word it modifies. For instance, I can show that a person wrote his lesson after
studying hard by saying, “Having studied hard, he wrote the lesson.” Here the participle,
“having”, shows a completed action on the part of the noun prior to the main verb. Examples:
singing, having, dangling.
7. An adverb modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. As with the adjective modifier, the
adverb describes or distinguishes a word that it modifies. The adverb often describes how a
thing is. Example: very, happily, often.
8. A preposition shows a relationship between the preposition’s object and something else.
They can show location, time, means, or nature. Example: in, after, by, of.
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9. A conjunction is used to connect thoughts together. It can be used in a variety of ways.
Conjunctions often have a definite logic value in the Bible that will be discussed later in this text.
Example: and, or, but.
10. An interjection expresses emotion. They are rarely used in formal writing, though are
prevalent in dialogues. They often come with exclamation marks. This is the only part of
speech that will not be discussed further in this text. Example: oh, ah, alas.
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Exercise I: Parts of Speech
Instructions:
Take a shot at identifying to which parts of speech the following words belong. If you don’t do
too well, don’t fret! This is just an introductory quiz. More will be said about the parts of
speech as we go.
Bonus: If the word could be more than one part of speech depending on context, put that answer
down as well.
1. adversary
2. deity
3. holy
4. holily
5. or
6. alas
7. ye
8. unto
9. sing
10. singing
Instructions:
Find the parts of speech in Bible verses. Site the verse below and list the word. One verse for
each part of speech will suffice. Don’t make it harder than it is!
Noun
Adjective
Pronoun
Verb
Participle
Adverb
Preposition
Conjunction
Interjection

INTRODUCTION Why Should the Bible Student Know English Grammar?

The reasons for a study of this type are many, but three simple reasons will be given here.
First, the Bible claims to be the inspired word of God (II Tim. 3:16). This expression means that
the Scriptures claim to be “God breathed”, and the Bible often makes this claim for even the
words of the text (II Sam. 23:2 “The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my
tongue.”). Inspired writers often use the grammar of the Scriptures to make doctrinal arguments.
Our Lord appealed to the tense of a verb to prove the resurrection, pointing out that God says “I
am” Abraham’s God as opposed to “I was” (Matt. 22:32). Paul makes a doctrinal point
concerning the promise of the Messiah by pointing to the number of the noun “seed” as being
singular and not plural (Gal. 3:16). This implies that a better understanding of grammar would
allow a better understanding of the Bible.
Second, the Bible was originally written in languages other than English. To properly learn
these languages, one must first be a master of the native tongue. When studying Greek, one will
often be asked to translate sentences in and out of English. Without a functional knowledge of
English, many fail in these exercises. Furthermore, in order to discern whether or not the
original language has been correctly translated by the multitudes of available versions, one must
understand the usage and senses of English grammar in addition to simple definitions. Is the
future perfect verb “shall have been bound” a better rendering than the simple future “shall be
bound” in Matt. 16:19? Who can say without first knowing the difference in the two verb tenses!
In any language, the rules of grammar mean as much or more to a sentence than the definitions
of the individual words.
Third, the Christian is often in a situation where his selection of words, either on the written
page or in oral speech, determines whether or not some lost soul comprehends the Gospel. Some
will claim that we are saved by “faith only”, which implies that grace, blood, love, and
repentance are unnecessary. What they probably mean is that we are saved “only by faith”,
which implies that faith is essential while not excluding the other essentials. For this reason, it is
prudent to learn how to carefully and properly construct sentences and complete thoughts.
Tools for Grammar Study and Improvement
I hope that this text will be a resource and a launching pad for an improvement of your
grammar. However, this text is by no means a comprehensive grammar book, as this book
assumes a working knowledge of English. For that matter, even an exhaustive grammar book is
insufficient for complete mastery of the English language. The following resources would be an
aide in your continuing growth in the English tongue.
1. A comprehensive grammar book. Like any language, English is filled with subtle,
tricky, deceptive rules that can completely change the meaning of a text. Because
English is a bubbling stew of rules and words from other languages, both of Romantic
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and Germanic origin, it is especially full of exceptions and verbal cul-de-sacs. A
complete, comprehensive grammar book will fill in the holes left by this text.
2. An unabridged dictionary. While the rules of grammar have more control over a
sentence than the definitions of the individual words, the words are still the substance of
any sentence. An expansive vocabulary keeps communication precise, stimulates sleepy
audiences, and prevents misunderstandings. A good unabridged dictionary will provide
the etymology of a word and its meanings in various eras. This is especially important if
you are using a version of the Bible like the American Standard Version (1901 style
English) or the King James Version (1611-1769 style English). For example, knowing
that the words “perfect” and “conversation” have changed meanings over the years will
greatly improve your study of the King James Version.
3. Stimulating reading materials. The best way to keep your grammar skills and
vocabulary keen is to read. Obviously, a scholarly journal will do more for you than a
comic book. Fortunately, the Bible student with a reliable version already has an interest
in a classic text of the English language. Nothing has contributed to my personal
understanding of the English language more than my studies in the King James Bible, the
finest piece of English literature in existence. More modern versions lack some of the
eloquence and style of the older classics, so if you are trying to read to improve your
vocabulary and grammar, be careful what you choose to read.
4. Vocabulary builders. If you have had a love of reading from an early age, you have a
great head start above others. If not, you may need a good vocabulary builder to catch
up. Several such books flood the market every year and most are relatively inexpensive.
Generally they consist of a word-a-day type format.
5. Guide to English Usage. Many of the books in the grammar section of a bookstore
actually deal more with usage than grammar, as we will discuss it. “Usage” deals with
the distinction between commonly confused words and common grammar mistakes. A
book on this subject can be helpful to your written and oral communication. However,
since the Bible doesn’t contain grammar errors, this course will not deal with that in any
detail.
Disclaimer
I feel compelled to inform you that I am only an amateur English teacher. I have had good
training in the English language thanks to a pair of highly critical and helpful high school
teachers. I should also acknowledge that my understanding of the usefulness of grammar in
Bible study was built up by several preachers who are very dear to me. However, this does not
make me an expert. If you find grammar mistakes in this text (I try to always split a few
infinitives and leave a few participles dangling!) or conflicts with other grammar texts, I am most
likely in the wrong.
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As an anecdotal explanation of my grammatical expertise or lack thereof, allow me to relate a
short story. In high school, I was often selected to attend scholastic competitions, often to
compete against other students by taking tests. On one such occasion, I was chosen to represent
my school in the grammar part of the competition. I was given a blank answer form and a test.
To my credit, I took first place in the competition. To my shame, I misspelled the word
“grammar” as “gramar” on the subject line of the answer form.
Format
I originally formatted this text using concise numbered rules. However, with each revision,
my numbered rules have become numbered paragraphs. Interspersed throughout the text are
example tables. The example sentences are numbered and then referenced in the lesson. Also,
to encourage application of this material, I have included some application sections, indicated by
the little Bible symbol, where the student is encouraged to apply the current concept to a passage
of Scripture.
At the end of the lesson is a brief exercise that will normally ask you to open your Bible and
think about English grammar at the same time. This can be a chore if this is the first attempt that
you have made in this kind of studying, but it is well worth the effort.
In addition, because this text is aimed in part toward those interested in studying Bible
languages like Greek, I will occasionally stop and make comments that compare Greek and
English. If you have no interest in Greek, then you may have little interest in these comments.
Sources
My primary source for grammar rules in this text is Harvey’s Revised English Grammar. Its
first copyright was in 1878, while my edition is copyrighted 1986. It is subtitled A Practical
Grammar of the English Language. I prefer the concise old primers for my purposes.
All Bible quotations will come out of the King James Bible of which I am a huge fan. Other
reliable translations exist, but none with the depth of style of the KJV. Furthermore, I take
theological issue with some of the modern speech translations … but that would be the subject of
another book entirely! Suffice it to say that I chose the KJV for this text for the reasons already
stated – scholarly journal instead of comic book.
Helpful Vocabulary
Sometimes we will have to split hairs as we discuss grammar. It will be helpful for me to
define a few words up front.
Linguistics is the science of languages. It is not a field specific to any one language, but
instead is universal to all.
Syntax is the structure of terms in a line. This term is used in computer programming and
grammar as well. It relates to order more than meaning.
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Grammar is the specific set of rules that governs a language. The rules make it possible to
safely communicate an idea.
Usage is the study of specific words and how they should or should not be used in a
language. For example, “to”, “two”, and “too” are studied under usage. We will not deal lot
with this subject in this class.
Spelling relates to the formation of an individual word. We will not cover this much in this
class either.

English Grammar Grammar Assessment Test

Complete the sentences with: who, which, where,
1. The word chocolate, ________________ comes from the Aztec language, is
the only Aztec word in English.
2. The first person to bring chocolate to Europe was Cortes, ____________ was
an explorer.
3. The Aztecs made a drink from cocoa beans _____________ was called
Xocoatl.
4. Henri Nestle, _______________ was Swiss, developed the process of making
milk chocolate.
5. Chocolate, __________ contains a special chemical, makes us feel as if we
are falling in love.
6. In Mexico they serve chicken with mole, ____________ is a kind of chocolate
sauce.
7. People in Britain spend 98p a week on chocolate except in Scotland,
____________ they spend more.
8. The police arrested a couple in Switzerland, _____________ they were trying
to sell chocolate secrets.
9. He _______________ laughs last, laughs best.
10.Ibiza is the place __________________ she often spends her summer
holidays.
11.My parents are the only people _________________ always support me.
12.She enjoys watching films _________________ make her cry.

English The Parts of Speech for college

The parts of speech explains the ways words can be used in various contexts. Every
word in the English language functions as at least one part of speech; many words can
serve, at different times, as two or more parts of speech, depending on the context.
adjective A word or combination of words that modifies a noun (blue-green, central,
half-baked, temporary ).
adverb A word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb (slowly, obstinately,
much ).
article Any of three words used to signal the presence of a noun. A and an are known as
indefinite articles; the is the definite article.
conjunction A word that connects other words, phrases, or sentences (and, but, or,
because ).
interjection A word, phrase, or sound used as an exclamation and capable of standing by
itself (oh, Lord, damn, my goodness ).
noun A word or phrase that names a person, place, thing, quality, or act (Fred, New
York, table, beauty, execution ). A noun may be used as the subject of a verb, the object
of a verb, an identifying noun, the object of a preposition, or an appositive (an
explanatory phrase coupled with a subject or object ).
preposition A word or phrase that shows the relationship of a noun to another noun (at,
by, in, to, from, with )
pronoun A word that substitutes for a noun and refers to a person, place, thing, idea, or
act that was mentioned previously or that can be inferred from the context of the
sentence (he, she, it, that ).
verb A word or phrase that expresses action, existence, or occurrence (throw, be, happen
). Verbs can be transitive, requiring an object (her in I met her ), or intransitive, requiring
only a subject (The sun rises ). Some verbs, like feel , are both transitive (Feel the fabric )
and intransitive (I feel cold , in which cold is an adjective and not an object).

English tenses for college students

The Present Perfect Tense
The present perfect is used when:
1. The time period has not finished:
I have read three reviews this week.
(This week has not finished yet.)
2. The time is not mentioned:
Gal has failed his final exam again.
3. The time is recent:
Ron has just arrived in Berkeley.
4. With for and since.
Dana has lived here for 20 years.
Dana has lived here since 1978.

English tenses for College students

Present Perfect: "Since" and "For"
1. Present perfect tense structure: Subject + have/has+ PP
a. Bob has been a teacher since 1987.
b. They have been in Paris for many years.
Verb tense
1. Present
2. Past
3. Past participle (PP)
a. regular: add -ed: love, loved, loved - want, wanted, wanted
b. irregular:
be was/were been see saw seen meet, met, met
sleep slept slept sell sold sold tell told told
buy bought bought think thought thought begin began begun
sing sang sung have had had make made made
put put put read read read pay paid paid
say said said do did done go went gone
dive drove driven give gave given know knew known
grow grew grown eat ate eaten fall fell fallen
speak spoke spoken break broke broken get got gotten
write wrote written
3. Use "since" with present perfect tense to;
a. since + point in time: since yesterday, since 5:00, since Monday, since 1995, since then
b. since + time clause: since he was a child, since I was here, since they were ... .
4. Use "for" with present perfect tense
a. for + length of time: for 10 minutes, for two weeks, for years, for a long time
a. Bob has owned a restaurant for years.Present Perfect: Already and Yet
1. Use "already" in affirmative (+) present perfect.
a. I have already mailed the invitation.
b. John has already met Mary.
2. Be careful!
Do not use present perfect with already and past time.
a. John has already met Mary.
b. * John has already met Mary last month.
3. If "already" is used in question present perfect, it shows surprise.
a. Has John arrived already? (= John has arrived sooner than expected)
4. Use "yet" in negative (-) and question (?) present perfect.
a. I haven't cleaned yet.
b. John hasn't called yet.
c. Have you bought the water yet?
d. Has she arrived yet?
5. Use "yet" at the end of the sentence or after haven't/hasn't.
a. They haven't arrived yet.
b. They haven't yet arrived.
c. *They yet haven’t arrived.
6. Use "haven't/hasn't" or "not yet" to answer questions.
John: Has the party started yet?
Mary: No, not yet.
or
Mary: No, it hasn't.
or
Mary: Not yet.
Unit 18
Present Perfect: Indefinite (= unknown) Past
1. Use present perfect when you do not know exactly when something happened.
a. They've traveled to Egypt.
b. We've been to Rome.
c. She’s been to Qatar.
2. For repeated action, use “twice” or “many times” at the end of the sentence.
a. I’ve stayed there many times.
b. I’ve seen this movie twice.
3. Use “adverbs of frequency” (= always, never, ever, often) before the PP.
a. I’ve always stayed there.
PP
b. She’s never been there.
PP
c. *I’ve stayed always there.
d. *I’ve stayed there always.
e. *She’s been never there.
f. *She’s been there never.
4. Use “ever” for asking questions in present perfect.
a. Have you ever been to Rome?
b. *Have you never been to Rome?
5. Use “never” in negative present perfect.
a. I’ve never been there.
PP
John: Have you ever been to Rome?
Mary: I’ve never been to Rome.
Or
Mary: No, never.
6. Use “just” before the PP in present perfect tense.
a. I’ve just gotten back from China.
PP
b. *I just have gotten back from China.
c. *I’ve gotten just back from China.
7. Use “lately” at the end of the sentence.
a. They haven’t been there lately.
b. *They lately haven’t been there.
c. *They haven’t lately been there.
d. *They haven’t been lately there.
8. Use “recently” before PP or at the end of the sentence.
1 2
a. He has recently flown a lot.
PP
b. He has flown a lot recently.
c. *He recently has flown a lot.
d. *He has flown recently a lot.
9. In American English, people often use just and recently with the simple past.
a. I just got back from China. (American English)
b. I’ve just got back from China. (British English)