Toefl Grammar materials and strategy

Grammar and Style Review

Now that you have a better idea of what to expect on the structure section of the TOEFL exam, it’s time to review some basic English grammar patterns and rules. This review and the practice exercises throughout the chapter will help you write more clearly and correctly and better prepare for the exam.

The Basic Unit of Writing: Sentences and Sentence Structure

When we write, we express our ideas in sentences. But what is a sentence, anyway?

SUBJECTS, PREDICATES, AND OBJECTS

A sentence is the basic unit of thought in the English language. It is composed of two essential parts—a subject and a predicate—and it must express a complete thought. The subject of a sentence tells us who or what the sentence is about. The predicate tells us something about the subject. Thus, in the following sentence:

The snow is falling.

The word snow is the subject. It tells us what the sentence is about—who or what performed the action of the sentence. The verb phrase is falling is the predicate. It tells us the action performed by (or information about) the subject.

The subject of a sentence can be singular or compound (plural):

I ate a large pizza.                   Ted and I ate a large pizza.

singular subject                       compound subject (two subjects performing the action)

The predicate can also be singular or compound:

I ate a large pizza.                   I ate a large pizza and drank a liter of soda.

singular predicate                    compound predicate (two actions performed by the subject)

In many sentences, someone or something “receives” the action expressed in the predicate. This person or thing is called the direct object. In the sentences below, the subject and predicate are separated by a slash (/) and the direct object is underlined:

             I / ate a large pizza.                 (The pizza receives the action of being eaten.)

Jack / loves Jill.                        (Jill receives the action of being loved.)

Sentences can also have an indirect object: a person or thing who “receives” the direct object. In the sentences below, the direct object is underlined and the indirect object is in bold:

I / gave Xiomara a gift.           (Xiomara receives the gift; the gift receives the action of being                                                                given.)

INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT CLAUSES

A clause is a group of words that has a subject and a predicate (clauses can have direct and indirect objects, too). A clause that expresses a complete thought is called an independent clause; it can stand on its own as a sentence. A dependent clause, on the other hand, cannot stand alone because it expresses an incomplete thought. When a dependent clause stands alone, the result is a sentence fragment.

            Independent clause:                It rained.

Dependent clause:                   Because it rained.

Notice how the dependent clause is incomplete; it requires an additional thought to make a complete sentence. The independent thought, however, can stand alone.

What makes the dependent clause above dependent is the word because. Because is one of many subordinating conjunctions like the following:

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS:

After          before         that             when

although     if                though        where

as, as if       once           unless         wherever

because       since           until            while

When a clause has a subordinating conjunction, it must be connected to an independent clause to become a complete thought:

            Because it rained,                    the game was cancelled.

dependent clause                    independent clause

I was so hungry                       that I ate a whole pizza.

independent clause                 dependent clause

A sentence with both a dependent and independent clause is called a complex sentence. Both of the sentences above are complex sentences.

When two independent clauses are combined, the result is a compound sentence like the following:

It rained, so the game was cancelled.

The most common way to join two independent clauses is with a comma and a coordinating conjunction: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet. Independent clauses can also be joined with a semi-colon if the ideas in the sentences are closely related.

             I was starving, so I ate a whole pizza.

The dog needs to be fed daily, but the fish only needs to be fed every other day.

He is from Australia; she is from New Zealand.

PHRASES AND MODIFIERS

Sentences are often “filled out” by phrases and modifiers. Phrases are groups of words that do not have both a subject and predicate. Modifiers are words and phrases that qualify or describe people, places, things and actions. The most common phrases are prepositional phrases, which consist of a preposition and a noun or pronoun (e.g., in the kitchen). Modifiers include adjectives (e.g., dark, stormy) and adverbs (e.g., slowly, carefully). In the examples below, the prepositional phrases are underlined and the modifiers are in bold:

             I gave Xiomara a beautiful, hand-made gift for her sixteenth birthday.

Yesterday I ate a large pizza with mushrooms and anchovies.

On Friday, it rained all day, so the baseball game was cancelled by the league.

Verbs

Verbs are the agents of action in a sentence. They are the “heart” of a sentence because they express the action or state of being of the subject:

It rains a lot in Seattle. (action)

I feel really good about this deal. (state of being)

The poor cat is starving. (state of being)

Chester smiled broadly. (action)

Verbs have five basic forms:

1. Infinitive base: the base form of the verb plus the word to.

to go             to be           to desire      to arrange

To indicate tenses of regular verbs (when the action of the verb did occur, is occurring, or will occur), we use the base form of the verb and add the appropriate tense endings.

2. Present tense: the verb form that expresses what is happening now.

            I am glad you are here.

Chester smiles a lot.

The present tense of regular verbs is formed as follows:

            SINGULAR                             PLURAL

first person (I/we)                    base form (dream)                   base form (dream)

second person (you)                base form (dream)                   base form (dream)

third person (he/she/it, they)   base form + -s/-es (dreams)     base form (dream)

3. Present participle: the verb form that describes what is happening now. It ends in -ing and is accompanied by a helping verb such as is.

            Chester is smiling again.

They are watching the stock market very carefully.

NOTE: Words that end in -ing don’t always function as verbs. Sometimes they act as nouns and are called gerunds. They can also function as adjectives (called participial phrases).

            Present participle (verb):                      He is eating the plastic fruit!

Gerund (noun):                                    That plastic fruit is not for eating!

Participial phrase (adjective):              The sleeping baby awoke when the phone rang.

(You will learn more about gerunds later in this chapter.)

4. Past tense: the verb form that expresses what happened in the past.

 It rained four inches yesterday.

The cat felt better after it ate.

5. Past participle: the verb form that describes an action that happened in the past and is used with a helping verb, such as has, have, or had.

             It had rained for days.

Chester has not smiled for days.

and much more grammar that you can learn on the following link:

http://elibrary.bsu.az/kitablar/1095.pdf

Tips to Improve Your Grammar

In theory, grammar shouldn't be that difficult. If you study this section well, you can pass the test completely. One way you can improve your grammar skills is by taking classes at a government-sponsored school. There are many sponsored schools that offer free classes at nights or in the mornings. These classes are the best way to improve your grammar as you will be placed in a class that fits your needs and matches your current skill set and need for improvement.

If you cannot locate a government sponsored program, and cannot afford to pay for a course yourself, you can buy, or borrow from your local library, one of the many TOEFL study guides. This allows you to prepare for the exam in the comfort of your own home. These study guides provide details about what to expect during the grammatical portion of the test, and they also suggest additional sources you can use to improve your grammatical skills.

Another idea you can put in to practice is to read books written in the English language. Through reading, you will learn more about the composition of English grammar, and, at the same time, you will improve your vocabulary because you will be learning new words in the process. Reading can be an essential tool for passing the exam, because you will be reinforcing both vocabulary and grammar. It also helps prepare you for college, where all the reading requirements for your classess will be in English.

source :
http://www.brighthub.com/education/college/articles/44464.aspx