6 English compared with other languages 1 Endings
Unlike words in some other languages, English words do not have a lot of different endings. Nouns take s in the plural (miles), but they do not have endings to show whether they are subject or object.
Verbs take a few endings such as ed for the past (started), but they do not take endings for person, except in the third person singular of the present tense (it starts).
Articles (e.g. the), possessives (e.g. my) and adjectives (e.g. good) do not have endings for number or gender. Pronouns (e.g. lime) have fewer forms than in many languages.
Subject
The woman
The man
Verb
loved
loved
Object
the man. (She loved him.)
the woman. (He loved her.)
The subject-verb order is fixed, and we can change it only if there is a special reason.
A practical guide to English grammar 7
3 Verb phrases
A verb phrase can have a complex structure. There can be auxiliary verbs as well as the ordinary verb.
I climbed up the ladder.
I was climbing the mountain.
We shall be climbing to an altitude of eight thousand feet.
The use of tenses and auxiliary verbs can be difficult for speakers of other languages.
4 Prepositions
The use of prepositions in English can be a problem. Both prepositions and adverbs combine with verbs in an idiomatic way.
We flew here on Friday. We left at two o'clock.
They were waiting for the flight. The plane took off.
There are many expressions involving prepositions that you need to learn as items of vocabulary.
