Here's the information I have so far:

o o o o o o o o o o o o o Adjectives Adverbs Complements Conjunctions Determiners Head Noun Inversion Nouns Prepositions Pronouns Quantifiers Subordinating Conjunctions Sentences

Adjectives
Any questions? Ask TestMagic!

Examples:
quick, happy, fast, timely, funny, friendly, pretty, red, blue, white, yellow, big, little

Rule
Back to top an adjective is:

a word that modifies (or describes) a noun

adjectives are OPTIONAL in a sentence--in other words, they are not necessary in the sentence, so we can use none in our sentence, or we can use a million of them!!

Be careful!!
Back to top Many adjectives look like adverbs because they end in -ly. For example, if we look at this sentence: The friendly teacher helped me a lot. and we try to figure out what part of speech friendly is, we might say that it is an adverb, because it ends in -ly. However, friendly is in fact an adjective.

-ly Adjectives
Here are some -ly adjectives that you might see on the TOEFL or other tests: costly, neighborly, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly

Adverbs
Any questions? Ask in the TestMagic Forum!

Examples of adverbs:
quickly, happily, fast, ago, home, downtown, nearby, always, sometimes, never

Adverb rules
What you need to know about adverbs:
o o o An adverb is a word that modifies (or describes) a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or even a sentence. Adverbs are OPTIONAL in a sentence--in other words, they are not necessary in the sentence, so we can use none in our sentence, or we can use several adverbs. Many adverbs end in -ly, but many do not (e.g., tomorrow, together, today).

Adverb exceptions
Many nouns can actually functions as adverbs in certain situations. For example, if we look at this sentence: I went downtown yesterday. and we try to figure out what part of speech downtown is, we might say that it is a noun, but it is in fact an adverb.

More examples of adverbs functioning as nouns

Here are many nouns that can function as adverbs, depending on the sentence: today, tomorrow, yesterday, Saturday, Friday, last year, next month, home, downtown For example:
o See you tomorrow!

o o o o

See you Friday! I studied hard last year. I'm going home. I live downtown.

In these examples, all the highlighted words are adverbs.

Complements
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Complements are words that come after linking verbs and modify nouns. The most common noun complements are adjectives andnouns, but can be many other parts of speech as well. TestMagic uses the term noun complement more liberally than do some other grammar resources; doing so will make grammar explanations for tests much, much easier and faster.

ShareTh Examples of complements All the highlighted words or phrases below are complements. My sister is a doctor. Tomomi is happy. The book is on the table. Carl is here. We should try to remain calm. The test proved to be more difficult than we had imagined. I consider you a friend. Megumi called her ex-boyfriend a philistine.

In all of these examples, the highlighted words are considered by TestMagic to be complements since they all serve to modify thenouns that are underlined.

Conjunctions
A conjunction is a word that we use between other things that are the same in terms of grammar. Let's look at some examples: Gary and Susan study together. In this sentence, and is a conjunction; we are using it to join twonouns, Gary and Susan. Gary and Susan study and work together. In this sentence, we are using and to join to verbs, study andwork.

Trick
This trick will help you to remember the most common conjunctions: F-A-N-B-O-Y-S F: for A: and N: nor B: but O: or Y: yet S: so Many teachers and schools teach you the FANBOYS trick (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) but TestMagic students know that for is a subordinating conjunction, not a coordinating conjuction.

The most common conjunctions are:

These are the most common conjunctions in the order of how common they are:
o o o o o o and or but so yet nor

Here are some other conjunctions you need to know:

The conjunctions are special in that they are two or more words together that function as conjunctions. These are the ones that will appear on ETS and other tests a lot:
o o o o o o not only... but also... not... but... either... or... neither... nor... as well as more... than...

List of Determiners
Any questions? Ask TestMagic! You need to know determiners to do well on grammar tests. We use determiners with nouns. The most common determiners arethe, a, and an, but there are many more that are also important. Here's a list of most of the determiners. You will notice that some of them are repeated; these are the determines most TestMagic students forget.

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List
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o the a an another no 's the a an no another 's some any my our their her his its another no 's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc. 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, etc. each every its another no 's this that

Head Noun
Any questions? Ask TestMagic! A head noun is: The word that is modified by an adjective clause.

Examples
Want to see an example? Look at this sentence:
o I like the car that you bought.

In this sentence, car is the head noun because the adjective clausemodifies it. Usually the head noun is the noun that comes right before theadjective clause, but not always.

Tricks
Look at these examples. The head nouns are underlined. Notice that the head noun is NOT the noun right before the adjective clause. 1. The people in Japan I met were very polite and friendly. 2. The CD in the purple jewel case that I was just listening to is not very good. 3. The TOEFL prep programs here in the USA that I visited seemed quite helpful.

List of 18 Types of Subject/Verb Inversion

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Any questions? Ask TestMagic! There are at least eighteen types of inversion: 1. neg intro 2. intro adverbial (in, down, prepositional phrase) 3. intro -ed 4. comparative 5. intro comparative

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6. as 7. so... that... 8. had, should, were 9. there is 10. here is 11. intro -ing 12. emphasis 13. the bigger, the better 14. questions 15. "story speech" 16. nor 17. so do I/neither do I 18. intro adjective

Type 1. neg intro

Examples Never do I sleep. Only at night can I study. In no way could I help you with your Japanese grammar question. I believe that only rarely will I needyour help. Not until I got homedid I realize that myshoes were untied.

Notes Question form is obligatory. Used with all verbs. This one is very common on the TOEFL and somewhat common on the GMAT and GRE. We need to learn the various types of words and phrases that require this type of inversion. Notice that

sometimes the inversion occurs right after the neg intro form and sometimes it occurs in the next subject and verb. See Neg Intro for more info. 2. intro adverbial Into the room ran the lady. First comes love, then comes marriage. After A comes B, then comes C, nextcomes D. Down came therain and washed the spider out. Used with beverbs, linking verbs, and verbs of direction. This one is less common on the TOEFL, but more common on the GMAT and GRE. Notice that sometimes we have an adverb, like first and down and sometimes we have an adverb phrase like into the room or after A. These adverbs and adverb phrases usually show location or direction. This type of inversion usually only occurs with beverbs, linking verbs and verbs that show direction or movement, like come, go, run, etc. Inversion is optional.

3. intro ed

Found in San Francisco isLombard Street, the socalled crookedest street in the world. Lost among the old tables and chairswas the priceless Victorian desk. Located between San Francisco and Marin County is the Golden Gate Bridge.

Inversion is obligatory. Used with beverbs. This one is very common on the TOEFL, GMAT, and GRE. This type of inversion usually occurs with be-verbs, but sometimes with linking verbs. Notice that the phrase is the complement of the be-verb.

4. comparatives

Cheetahs run faster than doantelopes. You speak Chinese better than do I. Jessica is more interested in Computer Science than is Benjamin.

Inversion is optional. Used with all verbs. This form of inversion is common on the TOEFL, GMAT, and GRE. We normally only have inversion here if we are comparing subjects of the verb, not objects. For example, in the following two sentences, we are comparing objects, carrots and potatoes, not the subject I.: I like carrots more than I do

potatoes. I like carrots more than do I like potatoes. Now, in this sentence, we are comparing subjects, I and my friend Carl: I like carrots more than does my friend Carl. 5. intro comparative Bigger than an apatosaur is theblue whale. More importantthan your personal statement is yourGPA. No less impressivethan the invention of the laser wasthe development of the wheel. Inversion is obligatory. Used with beverbs. This form is more common on the GMAT and GRE than it is on the TOEFL. Notice that we can only use this form of inversion when the verb is a be-verb since in every case, the comparative is the complement of the be-verb. Remember that less than is also a comparative. 6. as Megumi is from Japan, as is Sato. So-eun wants to leave early today, as does Oi. If thrown into the water, camels can swim, as can cats. Used with all verbs. We can only use inversion if Inversion is obligatory.

we are using as for comparisons. as is one of the trickiest words in English; it can have many different meanings. 7. so that So happy was Ithat I bought flowers for everybody in class. So quickly did sheleave that we did not even realize was gone. So rarely does acomet appearvisible to the naked eye that when one does, it is considered a major event. Question form is obligatory. Used with all verbs. This is not so common on the TOEFL, but is fairly common on the GMAT and GRE. The so that clause must before the verb in for this type of inversion. 8. had, should, were for ifclauses Had I rememberedTomomi's birthday, she wouldnt be mad at me now. Note that the wordif does NOT appear in the clause when inversion is used: Had I remembered = If I had remembered Should you need ahand, I will be more than happy to help you. Should you need a hand = If you should need a hand Were I you, I think I would study more for your exam tomorrow. Were I you = If I were you Inversion is obligatory. Used with all verbs. This is somewhat common on the TOEFL and more common on the GMAT and GRE. This type of inversion is kind of special. Notice that we can only use this type of inversion when we are using an if-clause. In other words, if is omitted: even

though the word if does not appear in the clause, we still have the meaning of an if-clause. For more information, see had, should, were. 9. there is, there are, there exists, there comes, etc. There is a goodrestaurant nearby. There comes atime in every persons life when she realizes that she is responsible for her own happiness, not other people. Scientists hypothesize that there exists a certain type of particle that can travel faster than the speed of light. Inversion is obligatory. Usually used only with these verbs. This form of inversion is common on the TOEFL, GMAT, and GRE, as well as in spoken and written English. Most people remember there is and there are. BUT we must also remember that there are other verbs that we can use instead of is and are. The most common ones are exist, come, and go. 10. here is, here are, here comes, here come Here is some goodfood for you to try. Here are the booksthat I dont need anymore. Here comes thebus! Usually used only with these verbs. You will probably not see this on the grammar section of the Inversion is obligatory.

TOEFL or on the GMAT or GRE. It could, however, appear on the Listening Comprehension Section of the TOEFL. We use this form mostly in spoken English. 11. intro -ing Burning out of control was theforest located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Coming in last in the race was Joe "Elephant Legs" Blow. Not helping the situation was littleSusie, who was throwing newspaper on the spreading fire. Inversion is obligatory. Used only with be-verbs. This form is not common on the TOEFL, but might show up on the GMAT or GRE. Notice the intro ing phrase is the complement of the be-verb. 12. emphasis Boy am I hungry. Is it ever hot in here! Do you know how to cook! Used with all verbs. You will probably not see this on the grammar section of the TOEFL or on the GMAT or GRE. It could, however, appear on the Listening Comprehension Section of the TOEFL. We use this form mostly in spoken English. Inversion is optional.

13. the bigger, the better

The closer an object is to another object, the greater is the gravity between the two objects.

Question form is optional. Used with all verbs.

14. questions

Is this the lastexample? Do you enjoyreading theselists? Are we finishedyet?

Inversion is obligatory. Used with all verbs. You will probably not see this on the grammar section of the TOEFL (TOEFL doesn't test questions anymore) or on the GMAT or GRE. It would, however, appear on the Listening Comprehension Section of the TOEFL.

15. "story speech"

I think its time to go, said Susan. Its time for you, but not for me,replied Gary. Maybe we should collect our thoughts for a moment,commented Lany.

Inversion is optional. Used with verbs that report speech. You will probably not see this on the grammar section of the TOEFL or on the GMAT or GRE.

16. nor

No one has volunteered for the job, nor do weexpect anyone to volunteer in the future. Hok-ming cannot speak Portuguese, nor can Josspeak Cantonese. The zoo regulations will not permit you to touch the animals, norwould most peopleadvise you to doso.

Inversion is obligatory. Used with all verbs. You might see this on the adaptive

TOEFL if you are scoring high and it could appear on the GMAT or GRE. Remember that nor is considered a conjunction, but we use it between two sentences (not between any two elements like the other conjunctions). 17. "so do I"/ "neither do I." So do I. So can Terry. Neither do mostpeople I know. Used with all verbs. You will probably not see this on the grammar section of the TOEFL or on the GMAT or GRE. 18. intro adjective Beautiful beyond belief was my babydaughter. Happy about their acceptance into their dream schools were Lany and Tomo. Quick and painlesswill be your medicalprocedure. Inversion is obligatory in most cases. Used with beverbs. This one is fairly rare and probably would not appear on the TOEFL, but you might see it on the GMAT or GRE. Inversion is sometimes not used in poetic language. Inversion is obligatory.

Nouns
Any questions? Ask in the TestMagic Forum!

Examples: house, dog, you, me, idea, dream, happiness Nouns are arguably the second most important part of speech in English--verbs are probably the most important. Every language has nouns, so it's not so difficult to understand them, but there are a few things about nouns that you should know. In this grammar lesson: o o Grammar Rule for Nouns Tricky Grammar Relating to Nouns!

Grammar Rule for Nouns

Back to top a noun is:

a person, place, thing, or idea

If you can read this page, you probably already understand nouns pretty well, so we'll try to teach you something that you might not know and that is important for the TOEFL, GMAT, SAT II: Writing, and other standardized tests that test your English. Special note about pronouns: You should also be aware that TestMagic does NOT adhere to the traditional system of classifying parts of speech--in the traditional system of classifying parts of speech, nouns and pronouns are placed into two separate groups. There is a certain logic for this division that makes perfect sense, but in our years of teaching, we have learned that our students can raise their scores faster if we include many (but not all!) pronouns in the set of nouns. For example, according to the TestMagic system, I, me, she, him, them, and us are considered nouns.

Tricky Grammar Relating to Nouns!

Back to top Many nouns can function as adjectives. For example, if we talk about dog food, and we try to figure out the part of speech of dog, we might want to say that it is a noun. Actually, it

is a noun if you look at it by itself, but at TestMagic, we say that it is "a noun functioning as an adjective" in that instance. Some people will call a noun in this position a NOUN MODIFIER, and it is also correct to say this. And some people will call all the nouns together aCOMPOUND NOUN--a series of nouns together to form one noun phrase. Even though different teachers use different methods to explain, the concept is still the same--sometimes a noun can come before another noun to modify it. Here are some more examples of this structure: o o o o o university bookstore Stanford Univeristy bookstore drug addiction telephone company videocassette recorder And of course, there are thousands of others!

Prepositions
Any questions? Ask in the TestMagic Forum!

Jump to:
o o o

Rule Be careful!! List of prepositions

Rule
Back to top the most important rule for prepositions is:

preposition + noun

This is the TestMagic list of most of the prepositions you will ever see on the TOEFL. There are a few more prepositions in English that are not listed here, but you will probably not see them on the TOEFL since they are fairly uncommon.

This list is very important-you should know at least 90% of this list. And don't forget, after every preposition, we must have a noun, and only a noun; NEVER can we have a verb after a preposition.

Be careful!!
Back to top Six (6) of these prepositions can also be subordinating conjunctions . In other words, they can be followed by a noun or by a sentence, depending on the meaning. Huh? Can you show me some examples?? Sure, no problem. Look: o o o o o o o o After lunch, I felt sleepy. In this sentence, After is a preposition and is therefore followed by only one noun, lunch (no verb here!!). After I worked twelve hours, I felt tired. In this sentence, After is a subordinating conjunction and is followed by a sentence, I worked twelve hours. I worked until midnight. Here, until is a preposition and is followed by a noun, midnight. No verbs, please!!! I worked until I felt tired. In this sentence, until is a subordinating conjunction and is followed by a sentence, I felt tired.

List
Back to top

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

aboard about above absent according to across after (This one can also be a subordinating conjunction . In other words, it can be followed by a noun or a sentence, depending on the meaning). against ahead of all over along alongside amid or amidst among around as (This one can also be a subordinating conjunction . In other words, it can be followed by a noun or a sentence, depending on the meaning). as of as to

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

as + ADVERB OF TIME + as as early as as late as as often as as much as as many as, etc. aside astride at away from bar barring because of before (This one can also be a subordinating conjunction . In other words, it can be followed by a noun or a sentence, depending on the meaning). behind below beneath beside besides between beyond but by by the time of circa close by close to concerning considering despite down due to during except except for excepting excluding failing for (This one can also be a subordinating conjunction . In other words, it can be followed by a noun or a sentence, depending on the meaning). for all (this means despite) from given in in between in front of in keeping with in place of in spite of in view of including inside instead of into less like minus

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

near near to next to notwithstanding of off on on top of onto opposite other than out out of outside over past pending per plus regarding respecting round save saving similar to since (This one can also be a subordinating conjunction . In other words, it can be followed by a noun or a sentence, depending on the meaning). TestMagic List 2002 than thanks to (this means because of) through throughout till to toward or towards (both forms are correct, but toward is considered slightly more formal) under underneath unlike until (This one can also be a subordinating conjunction . In other words, it can be followed by a noun or a sentence, depending on the meaning). unto up upon up to versus via wanting with within without

Pronouns: An introduction
Any questions? Ask TestMagic! EXAMPLES OF PRONOUNS

she, he, it, they, we, some, many, half, others, etc. SENTENCES WITH PRONOUNS Trees are important to the environment because they produce oxygen. they = trees Tomomi offered me all of her soda, but I only drank half. half = half of the soda Some people like red, others like yellow. others = other people Some of the people that I met were very friendly. some = people

Rules pronouns = nouns Pronouns replace other nouns. Pronouns have to be singular or plural, just like the nouns they replace.

Quantifiers
Any questions? Ask TestMagic! Quantifiers are words that tell us how many of something we have. For example, in these sentences, the first words (the ones that look like this) are quantifiers:
o o o o o o o One of the cars is red. Two of the cars are red. Half of the cars are red. Some of the cars are red. All of the cars are red. Each of the cars is red. Enough of the cars are red.

Quantifiers are tricky because they can also be pronouns. Look at the following sentences. Notice that they are very similar to the previous sentences, except that the quantifiers are used WITHOUT the of:
o o o o One is red. Two are red. Half are red. Some are red.

o o o

All are red. Each is red. Enough are red.

Here is a list of quantifiers:

0%, 10%, 50%, 100%, etc. , , etc. 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. one, two, three, four, etc. one half, one third, one fourth, one quarter, one fifth, etc. a bit a couple a few a good deal a good many a great deal a great many a little a little bit a majority a minority a number a quantity all an amount another any any both certain each either enough enough few fewer heaps less less little little loads lots many masses more more most much much neither none numbers part plenty quantities

several some the majority the remainder the rest the whole tons various

Subordinating conjunctions
Any questions? Ask in the TestMagic Forum!

Yeah, we know. Just the name makes you not want to read any more, right? Right! Actually, I bet you know a lot of subordinating conjunctions already. Just look at these examples: Examples of subordinating conjunctions
o o o o o o o o o o o o o that if although because while since after before when where how whether in that

You already know all or most of these words, right? So, I think we can safely say that you already know the most important stuff about subordinating conjunctions, but just in case, here's the most important rule: subordinating conjunction + sentence If you can remember this question, you'll be able to answer 85% of the TOEFL questions you'll see on the grammar section no sweat. Yeah, we know that the name is kind of hard to remember. A lot of other books or teachers use different words because they think that their students won't remember the term subordinating conjunction, but, to tell you the truth, the term is actually very descriptive and helpful. First, you need to understand that a subordinating conjunction is aconjunction. In other words, we use it to joing two things that are the same. In the case of subordinating conjunctions, we are joining two sentences.

Trust me, many TOEFL grammar questions are related to whether or not we have a conjunction between two sentences. Let's look at some examples, maybe that will help us understand better. Look at this sentence: I was late to class. Now look at this sentence: The bus was late. Now, grammatically, we have two sentences. If we have two sentences, we need something between them to 'connect' them; this is a basic English rule. In this case, we can use the subordinating conjunction because. We would end up with this sentence: I was late to class because the bus was late.

Sentences
Any questions? Ask TestMagic! This is probably the most basic rule for English. Actually, if you can read this page, then you probably already understand what asentence is. No worries, though. TestMagic will explain the stuff you already know. Who knows? Maybe you can learn something!! Be sure to take a look at phrases to compare the difference betweensentences and phrases.

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Definition
Remember this--a sentence is:

subject + verb + (object or complement)

Examples
In each sentence below, the sentences look like this.
o o o o I like English. I bought a car. Most people sleep every day. Time and money are two important things for most people.

Okay, you must already know that these examples are sentences.

Before you close this page, take a look at the next examples that are NOT sentences.

What you need to know for your test:

In English, if we don't have a subject, or a verb, then we don't have a sentence. In many other languages, we sometimes omit the verb, or we sometimes omit the subject. We simply CANNOT do this in English. For example, in some languages, we can say:

wrong
My brother happy today. I just met your sister. Is a very nice person.

right
My brother is happy today. I just met your sister. She is a very nice person.

But English doesn't allow such constructions. The only possible exception would be the command form in English, which doesn't require a subject: Come here! Sit down! Have some coffee. The traditional explanation for this construction is that the you is understood.