This section is about nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.
Words that are things in the world are called nouns, for example “computer”, “tree”, and “father”.
Also, things that (probably) don’t actually exist are still nouns, such as: “dragon”, and “mind-reading”. And, things that are abstract are also nouns, for instance: “happiness”, “reading” or “prosperity”.
When a noun is a name it starts with a capital letter, for example “Bob”, “Newsweek”, and “Africa”. (These are called "proper nouns")
The nouns in these two sentences are in bold:
Previous studies precisely measuring the speed of typing found inconsistent results.
Temperature has a significant impact on fatigue in metals.
Verbs indicate the action of someone or something. They are also used for states of being. For example:
The theory of evolution provides a useful account of how different species appear.
Silicon chips are essential for a wide range of technologies.
Verbs in English usually have an "s" for the third person (present tense). This means that when you talk about he/she or a thing, you add an "s" to the end of the verb.
In everyday speech, this sometimes gets forgotten, but in writing, especially academic writing, it is important to remember that "s".
Here is an example of the persons for the verb "test":
I test,
You test
He/She/It tests
We test
You test
They test
Most verbs follow this pattern. However, two of the most commonly used verbs, "be" and "have", are not so simple:
| 1st person singular 2nd person singular 3rd person singular 1st person plural 2nd person plural 3rd person plural |
I am You are He/She/It is We are You are They are |
I have You have He/She/It has We have You have They have |
If a noun is singular, it needs a third person verb. In other words, the noun and its verb have to "agree". Here is an example:
"The colour of their coats is now yellow not white."
| The colour of their coats | is | now yellow not white. | |
| {Subject} | {Verb} | {Object} |
This sentence is about the colour. Notice that the noun "colour" is singular, so the verb, in this case "be", needs to be in the 3rd person, so that means "is". Compare this with the following example:
"The colours of the Chinese flag are red and gold."
| The colours of the Chinese flag | are | red and gold. | |
| {Subject} | {Verb} | {Object} |
Here, the word "colours" is plural, so its verb is plural third person "are".
Notice that the verb agrees with its subject, not its object:
"Smith's argument highlights the low prices of goods."
| Smith's argument | highlights | the low prices of goods. | |
| {Subject} | {Verb} | {Object} |
Here, the word "argument" is singular, so its verb is singular 3rd person.
The verb has to "agree" with the subject:
Plural subject => plural verb
Singular subject => singular verb
There is a small group of verbs that can help other verbs by changing the tense or the mood. Compare:
I go to university.
I must go to university.
The verb must adds to or changes the meaning of the verb go, making it stronger or more urgent. Here are some other helping verbs:
can, could: Add possibility or ability, for example, "The staff can speak French."
shall, should: Add advice, permission, or probability, for example, "The company should expand into Europe."
will, would: Add intention, purpose, prediction, for example, "All new cars will be electric by 2031."
must, might: Add obligation or probability, for example, "You must wear a mask for this lesson."
ought to: Adds advice or duty, for example, "You ought to put your phone on silent in lectures."
Have and will can highlight the time when the verb takes place, for example:
He went to America (in the past)
He has gone to America (he is still there)
He will go to America (in the future)
There are basically two tenses in English. They are called "Present tense" and "Past tense" (but these names are misleading because time is not the only rule for their use).
The most common tense in academic writing is the present tense.
The past tense is a little less common. It is used:
The passive is where you put the object into the subject position.
A normal (or "active") sentence follows this pattern:
| Subject | Verb | Object |
| Somebody Smith |
broke | the cup. |
But, a passive sentence swaps this order, like this:
| Object | Verb | * [by | Subject] |
| The cup | was broken. | [by [by |
somebody] Smith] |
* You can add "...by..." if you think it is necessary.
The passive structure is very common in academic writing. This structure makes the object more important by putting it at the start of the sentence. This is useful for academic writing because:
Here are the active and passive forms of the above examples. The subject has been underlined - notice what happens to the subject in the passive sentence :
| Active | Passive | |
| An unknown robber stole the car | => | The car was stolen |
| People in Hong Kong speak Cantonese | => | Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong |
| William Shockley invented the transistor | => | The transistor was invented by William Shockley |
| I filled the test tube | => | The test tube was filled |
Adjectives describe nouns. For example:
One of the most important events of the 1970s was the Watergate scandal.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in western-industrialised countries.
Adverbs are the type of words that describes verbs. For example:
A sample of the concentrate was then carefully injected into the oranges.
Researchers accurately weighed the tubes to six decimal places.
