# English Language Guide: Grade 4 English Home Language
## Sentence Structure
- **Definition:** A sentence is a group of words.
- **Capitalization:** Starts with a capital letter; followed by small letters.
- **Ending Punctuation:** Ends with a full stop (.), a question mark (?), or an exclamation mark (!).
### Types of Sentences
1. **Statement**
- Provides information.
- Ends with a full stop (e.g., "Sarah is going to school.").
2. **Question**
- Asks for information.
- Ends with a question mark (e.g., "Where did Sarah go?").
3. **Exclamation**
- Shows emotion.
- Ends with an exclamation mark (e.g., "I’m not speaking to you!").
4. **Command**
- Gives orders or instructions.
- Ends with an exclamation point (e.g., "Do not enter this room!").
### Sentence Components
- **Subject and Predicate**
- **Subject:** Who or what the sentence is about.
- **Predicate:** Describes what the subject is doing.
### Predicate Elements
- **Verb:** Action in the sentence.
- **Direct Object:** Follows the verb.
- **Indirect Object:** Indicates to whom or for whom.
## Punctuation
### Capital Letters
1. Sentence beginnings.
2. Names of places and people.
3. Titles of movies and books.
### Other Punctuation
- **Full-stop (.):** Ends a sentence; used in abbreviations.
- **Question Mark (?):** Ends a question.
- **Exclamation Mark (!):** Ends commands or emotional statements.
- **Comma (,):** Separates items in a list.
- **Apostrophe (‘):** Used in contractions (e.g., "We’ve").
## Parts of Speech
1. **Noun:** Naming word.
- **Proper Noun:** Specific names (e.g., Mr. Jones).
- **Common Noun:** General items (e.g., desks).
- **Collective Noun:** Groups (e.g., a class of learners).
- **Abstract Noun:** Intangible concepts (e.g., intelligence).
2. **Pronoun:** Replaces nouns (e.g., she, it).
3. **Adjective:** Describes nouns (e.g., talented).
4. **Verb:** Action word (e.g., play).
5. **Adverb:** Describes verbs (e.g., fast).
6. **Conjunction:** Connects sentences (e.g., and).
7. **Preposition:** Shows relation (e.g., on, behind).
## Plurals
1. **Regular:** Add "s" (e.g., houses).
2. **Ending in -ch, -sh, -s, -ss, -x:** Add "-es" (e.g., churches).
3. **Ending in -ay, -ey, -oy, -uy, -iy:** Add "-s" (e.g., monkeys).
4. **Consonant + y:** Change "y" to "-ies" (e.g., skies).
5. **Ending in f or fe:** Change to "-ves" (e.g., knives).
## Articles
- **Definite:** "the," specific reference.
- **Indefinite:** "a/an," general reference.
- "An" before vowels.
- "A" before consonants.
## Direct and Indirect Speech
- **Direct Speech:** Exact words with inverted commas (e.g., "There will be no homework.").
- **Indirect Speech:** Reported words without specific punctuation.
## Tenses
- **Past Tense:** Actions that happened (e.g., "lived").
- **Present Tense:** Actions happening now (e.g., "plays").
- **Future Tense:** Actions that will happen (e.g., "will go").
## Word Formation
- **Prefix:** Before main word (e.g., "unhappy").
- **Suffix:** After main word (e.g., "happiness").
## Synonyms and Homonyms
- **Synonyms:** Words with similar meanings (e.g., big, large).
- **Homonyms:** Same spelling, different meanings (e.g., ball).
- **Homophones:** Same sound, different spellings (e.g., aloud/allowed).
## Idioms
- Figurative expressions (e.g., "Once in a blue moon" - rare occurrence).