Five Elements of English Grammar with Examples

Five Elements of English Grammar: English Grammar is a complex system built upon five fundamental elements. These core components serve as the foundation for constructing grammatically correct sentences. From basic to advanced levels, grammar rules govern sentence structure and usage. Typically introduced in early education, grammar continues to develop as students progress through their academic journey. Understanding the five elements of English Grammar should be done to properly use punctuation, principles and tenses in it.

Must Read: Basic Rules in Grammar to Improve Your English

Five Elements of Grammar in English

The five elements of English grammar provide a clear understanding of how to use words in different sentences. They aid in creating effective communication in both spoken and written English. Additionally, they help you write English properly, making you familiar with grammatically correct sentences.

Word order

Word order is used to determine the connection between different words, especially in English, which functions as an analytical language. In basic declarative sentences in English grammar, the subject comes first, followed by the verb. Thirdly, adverbial phrases and objects follow in this word order.

Examples: The herder is leading the goat.

The baby is playing with the teddy bear.

If you change the basic order then the meaning of the sentence gets changed.

• The goat is leading the herder.
• A goat is leading the herder.

• The teddy bear is playing with the baby.
• The teddy baby is playing with the bear.

Also Read: Learn English Grammar from Scratch

Punctuation

Punctuation in written English is used to denote intonation, pauses and stress words. Some of the punctuation marks include periods, commas, exclamation points, question marks, colons, semicolons, dashes, brackets,  hyphens, parentheses, braces, ellipses, quotation marks and apostrophes. Moreover, punctuation can completely change the meaning of a sentence depending on where it is placed. 

Examples: 

• Let’s eat, Uncle!
• Let’s eat Uncle!

• Most of the time, travellers have to think about the future.
• Most of the time travelers have to think about the future.

Also Read: Types of Commas Used in English Grammar

Tense and Aspect

Tenses show whether a statement is in the present, future, or past by applying criteria to the verb. Additionally, they reveal whether the action is currently in progress, a single instant occurrence, or a repetitive action that happens regularly. Moreover, tenses can significantly alter the meaning of a sentence.

• He is an army officer.
• He was an army officer.

• She’s drinking tea.
• She drinks tea.

• I’ll watch that movie.
• I watched the movie.

Also Read: Tenses Tests You Should Take to Test Yourself!

Determiners

Determiners in English Grammar are used to give meaning to nouns in sentences, providing context that the nouns cannot stand without. There are five main types of determiners which are articles, quantifiers, possessive, distributive, and demonstrative. Some examples of determiners are my, its, her, each, many, those, an, neither, both, all, and how many.

Examples:

• His father came to his school.
• My brother is playing.
• The corner shop
• Take those toffees.

Also Read: Subject-Verb Agreement: 12 Rules & Examples

Connectors

The connectors are one of the five important elements of English grammar that connect words, clauses, or phrases with one another. They express coordination (yet, but, nor, and), subordination (when, if, who, because, that, although), and correlation (either, both, or, and) between the linked units.

Examples:

Connectors	Examples
coordination	She is an engineer who lives in Toronto. I enjoy eating the pizza and noodles.
correlation	Either you follow the left or the right path you will reach your destination. You can either take the train today or tomorrow.
subordination	When will you come home from the trip? He could not come to the office today because he was having surgery.

Find more related reads below!

English Language Grammar Cheatsheet	English Grammar for Class 10
Punctuation Marks in English Grammar	Nominative Case in English Grammar
Parentheses Examples in English Grammar	Types of Comma Used in English Grammar
Evolution of English Grammar Rules	Colon Punctuation Examples with Uses
List of Conjunctions	What are Clauses?

FAQs

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