Grammar and Mechanics

Grammar and Mechanics Grammar is the set of structural rules governing the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics, and pragmatics. The mechanics of writing are the boring parts, the most obvious aspects of writing. The mechanics of writing play two parts: They aid in communication,  They show how much effort you’ve put into your work.  These are the topics that will falls under Grammar such as:   Parts of a Sentence Punctuation Marks Parts of Speech Subjects Verbs Agreement Tenses Having problem constructing a proper sentence,  help is here: The Parts of the Sentence The parts of the sentence are a set of terms for describing how people construct sentences from smaller pieces. There is not a direct correspondence between the parts of the sentence and the parts of speech -- the subject of a sentence, for example, could be a noun, a pronoun, or even an entire phrase or clause.                This video will assist you how to construct a sentence.   Subject   The subject of a sentence is the noun---or word group acting as a noun---that performs the    action expressed in the predicate of a sentence or clause. The subject may be one word: Sally loves    chocolate. The subject may be in a noun phrase:  The black and white dog was barking fiercely at the stranger. Predicate   The predicate is the part of the clause or sentence that says something about the subject. In other    words, the part of the sentences that is not the subject and its modifiers is the predicate. A predicate can    be one word or several words, not all of which are verbs.  The principal part of the predicate is the verb. The dog sniffed.   Compound verbs are two or more verbs joined by a conjunction, (in this sentence, the word and) and relating to the same subject. The subject of the following sentences is cobra: The cobra saw the dog coming closer and raised itself into striking position. Complete predicates are all the words in a clause or sentence except the subject and its modifiers: The cobra saw the dog coming closer and raised itself into striking position. The agile dog moved from side to side rapidly, trying to corner the cobra.   Objects The object of a sentence can be a noun, pronoun, or word group that acts as a noun, and receives the    action of a verb or is influenced by a transitive verb, verbal (a word derived from a verb, i.e., gerund,    infinitive, and participle), or a preposition.  (More on Objects) 1.  Direct object: Receives the action of a verb or verbal and frequently follows it in a sentence. Direct objects are often needed to complete the thought of a sentence. "Rueben reads the newspaper."  "Reuben reads" is a complete sentence, but it doesn't  express the complete thought. Reuben reads what? He reads the newspaper. 2.  Indirect object: Tells for whom, to whom, or to what something is done. "Reuben reads his grandmother the newspaper." Reuben reads the newspaper to whom? to his grandmother. Grandmother is the indirect object. Pronouns are also used as indirect objects: "Reuben reads her the newspaper."  Indirect objects often come between the verb and the direct object.   The sentence could also be: "Reuben reads the newspaper to his grandmother." The prepositional phrase to his grandmother is the indirect object of the sentence. 3.  Object of Preposition:  Objects follow prepositions and are linked by them to the rest of the sentence.    Complements   A word or word group that completes the meaning of a subject, an object, or a verb.   1.  Subject complement: Follows a linking verb and modifies or refers to the subject. It may be a noun (also known as a predicate noun or nominative) or an adjective (also known as a predicate adjective).  Olivia is pretty. (The adjective pretty is a subject complement; it describes the subject, Olivia.) 2.  Object complement: Follows and modifies or refers to a direct object.    Blake considers American television silly. (television is the direct object. silly describes television; it is the object complement.) 3.  Verb complement: This is a direct or indirect object of a verb. It may be a noun, pronoun, or word or word group acting as a noun.  Aunt Gertie gave Patty my dessert. (Patty  is the indirect object, my dessert is the direct object of the verb gave. Both are considered verb complements.) Phrases  A group of related words that lacks a subject, or a predicate, or both---and that acts as a single part of speech.  1. Prepositional phrase: Consists of a preposition and its objects and modifiers. The object of the preposition is a noun or something acting as a noun (for instance, a gerund).  The repairman is at the door. (at is a preposition; door is a noun, and is the object of the preposition.)   Prepositional phrases are almost always used as adjectives or adverbs. If the phrase is being used as an adjective, it comes after the noun or pronoun it is describing.   Discretion is the better part of valor. (of is the preposition; valor is a noun and is the object of the preposition. The phrase describes the word part.) Remember that when using a pronoun in a prepositional phrase, you must use the objective case (me, her, him, us, them, whom.) you is the same in the subjective and objective case. 2.  Noun phrase: Noun phrases are composed of  a noun (or pronoun) and its modifiers. They are used as subjects, objects, or complements. The strange, eerie moaning made the dog's hackles raise. (noun phrase as subject) Zeke likes a large serving of spicy food for lunch. (noun phrase as object) The beach is a great spot for vacations. (noun phrase as complement) 3.  Verb phrase: A group of words that include a verb and any auxiliary verbs that serve as the predicate of a sentence or clause.   Gary has a toothache. Gary was having a toothache. Gary has already had a toothache. Gary must have been having a toothache. The pattern for a verb phrase can be as long as this : auxiliary/modal verb + auxiliary verb + auxiliary verb + main verb 4. Verbal phrase: Consists of a verbal (a word derived from a verb) and any modifiers. Verbal phrases are not the main verb or predicate in a sentence. The three types of verbals used in these phrases are present participles (ing form of a verb), past participles (ed or en form of a verb), and infinitives (to + the base form of a verb).  5.  Gerund phrase: Consists of a gerund (the -ing form of a verb used as a noun) and its objects, plus any modifiers. A gerund phrase is used as a noun; subject, complement, direct object, indirect object, or object of a preposition.   Falling asleep while your mother-in-law is showing vacation photos can get you in  trouble. (The gerund is falling, and the gerund phrase acts as the subject of the sentence.) Samantha's favorite activity is swimming with her friends. (The gerund is swimming, and the phrase acts as a complement.) Clauses   A group of related words containing a subject and a predicate.   1.  Main (independent) clause: An independent clause can stand by itself as a complete sentence.  Amos left work early because his mother was ill. (Amos left work early is a complete sentence.) Maggie loves pizza when it has extra cheese. (Maggie loves pizza is a complete thought.)  2.  Subordinate (dependent) clause: A subordinate clause cannot stand by itself as a complete sentence.  Amos left work early because his mother was ill. (because his mother was ill is not a complete thought, so it cannot stand alone as a sentence.) Maggie loves pizza when it has extra cheese. (when it has extra cheese is not a complete thought.) Kinds of sentences: 1.  Declarative: makes a statement, and ends with a period.   I sing a lovely song. 2.  Interrogative: asks a question, and ends with a question mark.   Did I sing a lovely song? 3.  Imperative: gives a command or makes a request, and ends with a period or an exclamation point. (an exclamation point shows a strong emotion of some kind, i.e., pleasure, anger, fear, etc.)   Sing a song for us now. 4.  Exclamatory: expresses strong feeling or emotion.  He sang a lovely song ! (he = the subject; sang = past tense of the verb "sing"; sang a lovely song = the predicate)   Punctuation Marks Punctuation is the system of symbols (. , ! - : etc) that we use to separate sentences and parts of sentences, and to make their meaning clear. Each symbol is called a "punctuation mark". Period and Comma Question Mark Colon and Semi-colon Dash and Parenthesis Quotation Marks Exclamation Mark The Comma (,) The comma is useful in a sentence when the writer wishes to: pause before proceeding add a phrase that does not contain any new subject separate items on a list use more than one adjective (a describing word, like beautiful) For example, in the following sentence the phrase or clause between the commas gives us more information behind the actions of the boy, the subject of the sentence: The boy, who knew that his mother was about to arrive, ran quickly towards the opening door. Full Stop (.) A full stop should always be used to end a sentence.  The full stop indicates that a point has been made and that you are about to move on to further explanations or a related point. Less frequently, a series of three full stops (an ellipsis) can be used to indicate where a section of a quotation has been omitted when it is not relevant to the text, for example: “The boy was happy… at the start of his summer holiday.” A single full stop may also be used to indicate the abbreviation of commonly used words as in the following examples: Telephone Number = Tel. No. September = Sept. Pages = pp. Exclamation Mark (!) An exclamation mark indicates strong feeling within a sentence, such as fear, anger or love. It is also used to accentuate feeling within the written spoken word.  For example: “Help! I love you!” In this way, it can also be used to indicate a sharp instruction “Stop! Police!” or to indicate humour “Ha! Ha! Ha!”  The exclamation mark at the end of a sentence means that you do not need a full stop. Question Mark (?) The question mark simply indicates that a sentence is asking a question.  It always comes at the end of a sentence:  For example:  Are we at the end? Note that the question mark also serves as a full stop. Semi-colon (;) The semi-colon is perhaps the most difficult sign of punctuation to use accurately.  If in doubt, avoid using it and convert the added material into a new sentence. As a general rule, the semi-colon is used in the following ways: When joining two connected sentences. For example: We set out at dawn; the weather looked promising. The semi-colon can also be used to assemble detailed lists. For example: The conference was attended by delegates from Paris, France; Paris, Texas; London, UK; Stockholm, Sweden; Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Mumbai, India. Colon  (:) The colon within a sentence makes a very pointed pause between two phrases.  There are two main uses of the colon: It is most commonly used when listing.  For example: She placed the following items into the trolley: beer, fruit, vegetables, toilet rolls, cereals and cartons of milk. Apostrophe (’) The apostrophe, sometimes called an inverted comma has two main uses. The apostrophe indicates possession or ownership. For example: The girl's hat was green, (girl is in the singular). This shows the reader that the hat belongs to the girl. The girls' hats were green, (girls in this instance are plural, i.e. more than one girl, more than one hat). Quotation or Speech Marks (“….”) Quotation or speech marks are used to: to mark out speech when quoting someone else's speech. For example: My grandpa said, "Share your chocolates with your friends." "George, don't do that!" "Will you get your books out please?” said Mrs Jones, the teacher, “and quieten down!" Hyphen (-) The hyphen is used to link words together. For example: sub-part eighteenth-century people week-end second-class post gender-neutral non-verbal The hyphen is also used when a word is split between two lines.  The hyphen should be placed between syllables at the end of the upper line and indicates to the reader that the word will be completed on the next line. Brackets (   ) Brackets always come in pairs (  ) and are used to make an aside, or a point which is not part of the main flow of a sentence.  If you remove the words between the brackets, the sentence should still make sense.  For example: “The strategy (or strategies) chosen to meet the objectives may need to change as the intervention continues.” Square Brackets […] A different set of square brackets [   ] can be used: to abbreviate lengthy quotations to correct the tense of a quotation to suit the tense of your own sentence to add your own words to sections of an abbreviated quotation. To abbreviate lengthy quotations in an essay or report  Ownership of wealth, together with occupation, are the chief basis of class differences.  The major classes that exist in Western societies are an upper class […]; a middle class […] and a working class […].” To adjust a quotation to suit your own sentence For example, if you were writing about class structure, you might use the following: According to Giddens, (1997, p.243) the “[o]wnership of wealth, together with occupation, are the chief basis of class differences”. Slash  (/) Many people use the slash instead of or, and etc., but this is not always helpful to the reader.  There is, however, a modern convention in gender-neutral writing to use ‘s/he’.  Parts of Speech Parts of speech” are the basic types of words that English has. Most grammar books say that there are eight parts of speech: nouns, verbs,adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions and interjections. We will add one more type: articles. It is important to be able to recognize and identify the different types of words in English, so that you can understand grammar explanations and use the right word form in the right place. Here is a brief explanation of what the parts of speech are:   A noun is a naming word. It names a person, place, thing, idea, living creature, quality, or action. Examples: cowboy, theatre, box, thought, tree, kindness, arrival A verb is a word which describes an action (doing something) or a state (being something). Examples: walk, talk, think, believe, live, like, want An adjective is a word that describes a noun. It tells you something about the noun. Examples: big, yellow, thin, amazing, beautiful, quick, important An adverb is a word which usually describes a verb. It tells you how something is done. It may also tell you when or where something happened. Examples: slowly, intelligently, well, yesterday, tomorrow, here, everywhere A pronoun is used instead of a noun, to avoid repeating the noun. Examples: I, you, he, she, it, we, they A conjunction joins two words, phrases or sentences together. Examples: but, so, and, because, or A preposition usually comes before a noun, pronoun or noun phrase. It joins the noun to some other part of the sentence. Examples: on, in, by, with, under, through, at An interjection is an unusual kind of word, because it often stands alone. Interjections are words which express emotion or surprise, and they are usually followed by exclamation marks. Examples: Ouch!, Hello!, Hurray!, Oh no!, Ha! An article is used to introduce a noun. Examples: the, a, an Subjects And Verbs Agreement Subjects and verbs must AGREE with one another in number (singular or plural).  Thus, if a subject is singular, its verb must also be singular; if a subject is plural, its verb must also be plural.   In the present tense, nouns and verbs form plurals in opposite ways: nouns ADD an s  to the singular form; verbs REMOVE the s from the singular form. These agreement rules do not apply to verbs used in the simple past tense without any helping verbs.   The agreement rules do, however, apply to the following helping verbs when they are used with a main verb: is-are, was-were, has-have, does-do. The agreement rules do not apply to has-have when used as the SECOND helping verb in a pair. They do NOT apply to any other helping verbs, such as can, could, shall, should, may, might, will, would, must.   The subject-verb agreement rules apply to all personal pronouns except I and you, which,  although SINGULAR, require PLURAL forms of verbs. Now click on the link below to do exercise 1.   Link to Exercise 1 The remainder of this teaching unit deals with some more advanced subject-verb agreement  rules and with exceptions to the original subject-verb agreement rule Compound Subject The word “compound” means “made up of two or more parts.” Two or more words can be  compounded or linked by joining them with any of three words:   and, or, and nor Here are some examples of compounding: Compound nouns can function as a “compound subject.” In some instances, a compound subject poses special problems for the subject-verb agreement rule (+s, -s). However, instead of using two sentences (as above), we may choose to give the above information in one sentence. This sentence makes use of a compound subject (two subject nouns joined by and), illustrating a new rule about subject-verb agreement. Although each part of the compound subject is singular (ranger and camper), taken together (joined by and), each one becomes a part of a plural structure and, therefore, must take a plural verb (see) to agree in the sentence.                    SUBJECT-VERB RULE RULE #1 – Two or more singular (or plural) subjects joined by and act as a plural compound  subject and take a plural verb (singular + singular = plural). You can check the verb by substituting the pronoun they for the compound subject. Or and nor as joiners work somewhat differently from and. While the word and seems to ADD things together, or and nor do not. They suggest a CHOICE. Look at this sentence. This sentence makes use of a compound subject (two subject nouns joined together by or). Each part of the compound subject (ranger, camper) is singular. Even though both words function together as subject (joined by or), the subject still remains SINGULAR (ranger or camper) since a CHOICE is implied. This compound subject, therefore, requires a singular verb to agree with it.   RULE #2 – Two or more SINGULAR subjects joined by or (or nor) act as a singular compound subject and, therefore, take a singular verb to agree. Note: Two or more plural subjects joined by or (or nor) would naturally take a plural verb to agree. However, or and nor can pose a more difficult problem. Thus far we have been working with compound subjects whose individual parts are both either singular or plural What if one part of the compound subject is singular and the other part is plural? What form of a verb should be used in this case? Should the verb be singular to agree with one word? Or should the verb be plural to agree with the other? Solution: 1. If the individual parts of the compound subject are joined by and, always use a plural verb. 2. If the individual parts of the compound subject are joined by or or nor, use the verb form (singular or plural) which will agree with the subject closer to the verb. Now click on the link below to do exercise 2. Link to Exercise 2  Click on Link for more information on: Suject Verbs Agreement Tense The chart below are to lessons for each of the 12 basic tenses. In each lesson we look at two aspects of the tense: Structure: How do we make the tense? Use: When and why do we use the tense? NAME SUBJECT AUXILIARY  VERB MAIN  VERB VERB+ OBJECT Present Indefinite Subject Verb(Present)               s/es Object Past Indefinite Subject Verb(Past)                    Object Future Indefinite Subject will Verb(Present)               Object Present Continuous Subject am/is/are  Verb(Present) ing Object Past Continuous Subject was/were  Verb(Present) ing Object Future Continuous Subject will be      Verb(Present) ing Object Present Perfect Subject have/has   Verb(Past Participle)    Object Past Perfect Subject had Verb(Past Participle)    Object Future Perfect Subject will have    Verb(Past Participle)    Object Present Perfect Continuous Subject Have/ has been Verb(Present)               ing Object Past Perfect Continuous Subject Had been Verb(Present)               ing Object Future Perfect Continuous Subject Shall/will have been Verb(Present)               ing Object Definition of Tense: Which denotes time of a verb is called Tense. Kinds of Tense: There are three kinds of Tense. 1.      Present Tense. A.     Present Indefinite Tense. B.     Present Continuous Tense. C.     Present Perfect Tense. D.     Present Perfect Continuous Tense. 2.      Past Tense. A.     Past Indefinite Tense. B.     Past Continuous Tense. C.     Past Perfect Tense. D.     Past Perfect Continuous Tense. 3.      Future Tense. A.     Future Indefinite Tense. B.     Future Continuous Tense. C.     Future Perfect Tense. D.     Future Perfect Continuous Tense. Details on Tense: Present Tense: A verb that refers to present time is said to be in the Present Tense. Examples:       I write. He loves. Past Tense: A verb that refers to past time is said to be in the Past Tense. Examples:       I wrote. He loved. Future Tense: A verb that refers to future time is said to be in the Future Tense. Examples:       I shall write. He will love. Present Indefinite: Present Indefinite tense denotes an action in the present time or habitual truth or eternal truth. Examples:       He plays cricket. (S/es - when the subject is 3rd person singular number) They play cricket. He reads the newspaper. Past Indefinite: Past Indefinite tense is used to denote an action completed in the past or a past habit. Examples:       He played cricket. They went to the school. I saw the man. Future Indefinite: Future Indefinite tense is used when an action will be done or will happen in future. Examples:       He will play cricket. I shall do the job. They will never do the work. Present Continuous: Present Continuous tense is used when an action is continued or going to be continued in near future. Examples:       He is playing cricket. (Is - when the subject is 3rd person singular number) I am playing cricket. (Am - when the subject is only I) They are playing cricket. (Are - when the subject is 3rd person plural number) Past Continuous: Past Continuous tense is used when the action was continued for some time in the past. Examples:       He was playing cricket. (Was - when the subject is singular number) They were playing cricket. (Were - when the subject is plural number) You were doing the sum. Future Continuous: Future Continuous tense is used when an action is thought to be going on in the future. Examples:       He will be playing cricket. I shall be taking tea. She will be going to market. Present Perfect: Present Perfect tense is used when the work has been done but its effect lasts. Examples: He has played cricket. (Has - when the subject is 3rd person singular number) I have played cricket. (Have - when the subject is I, You and They) They have gone there. Past Perfect: Past Perfect tense is used in the former action between two completed actions of the past. Simple past is used in the later action. Examples:       He had played cricket. I had done it. You had seen the bird. Future Perfect: Future Perfect tense is used to indicate the completion of an action by a certain time in the future. Examples:       He will have played cricket. I shall have eaten rice. They will have gone there. Present Perfect Continuous: The Present Perfect Continuous tense is used for an action which began at some time in the past and is still continuing. Examples: I have been doing this work for two days. (For – when the time is indefinite) She has been reading in this school for three years. He has been suffering from fever since/from Sunday last. (since/for – when the time is definite) He has been working here since/from 1987. Past Perfect Continuous: Past Perfect tense is used for an action that began before a certain point in the past and continued upto that time. Examples: We had been playing before the train started. Mr. Roy had been teaching there for five years. They had been playing. Future Perfect Continuous: Future Perfect Continuous tense is used when the doer will have been doing the work by a certain future time. Examples: We shall have been living here for three years. I shall have been doing the work before my father comes. He will have been studying at Oxford when he gets his degree.     Click on links below for more reference on each topics base on Grammar and Mechanics: Reference Parts of Speech Video 1 file Parts of Speech Video 2 file Parts of Speech Video 3 file Parts of Speech Video 4 file Parts of Speech Video 5 file Parts of Speech Video 6 file Subject Verb Agreement Video 1 file Subject Verb Agreement Video 2 file Subject Verb Agreement Video 3  Present Simple Tense (en) : : Present Continuous (Progressive) Tense (en) : : Past Simple Tense (en) : : Past Continuous (Progressive) Tense (en) : : Future Simple Tense (en) : : Future Continuous (Progressive) Tense (en) : : Present Perfect Tense (en) : : Past Perfect Tense (en) : : Future Perfect Tense (en) : : Present Perfect Continuous (Progressive) Tense (en) : : Past Perfect Continuous (Progressive) Tense (en) : : Future Perfect Continuous (Progressive) Tense (en)  : : Common Errors in English : : English Grammar and Writing Tips : : Present Participle /en/ : : Stative and Dynamic Verbs  : : Modal Verbs  : : Idioms : : Wh-questions (which, what, who, whom, whose, when, where, why and how) : : Prepositions to Use with Common Words: A - C      D - F      G - I      J - L      M - P Q - U      V - Z Sources used for the section "English Grammar"  Worksheet on Grammar  click link For parts of a sentence  Click link for Predicate and Subject These links above are worksheets that are based on punctuation marks. http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/marks.htm http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/parts.htm http://www.edb.utexas.edu/minliu/pbl/ESOL/help/libry/speech.htm Links above are on Parts of Speech Subject and verbs agreement http://www.towson.edu/ows/moduleSVAGR.htm http://www.towson.edu/ows/SelfTeachingUnits/SubjectVerbAgreementExercise1.aspx Links above are based on subjects verbs agreement and work activities.  http://english-education-world.blogspot.com/search/label/Grammar http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verb-tenses.htm Links above based on Tenses  http://www.helpteaching.com/questions/Grammar http://www.englishforeveryone.org/Topics/Punctuation.htmhttp://www.englishclub.com/writing/punctuation.htm These links above are worksheets that are based on punctuation marks http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/marks.htm This URL above is based on the different  Punctuation marks and their function