English Grammar Basics

• English grammar is the structural foundation of the English language; it governs how words combine to form phrases, clauses, and sentences.
• Grammar encompasses parts of speech, sentence structure, verb tenses, and punctuation.

Parts of Speech

• Nouns represent people, places, things, or ideas (e.g., dog, city, happiness).
• Pronouns replace nouns (e.g., he, she, it, they).
• Verbs express actions or states of being (e.g., run, is, become).
• Adjectives describe nouns (e.g., red, large, beautiful).
• Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs (e.g., quickly, very, well).
• Prepositions show the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in the sentence (e.g., in, on, at, to, from).
• Conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses (e.g., and, but, or, so).
• Interjections express strong emotion (e.g., Wow! Ouch!).

Sentence Structure

• A sentence is a group of words expressing a complete thought.
• A sentence typically contains a subject and a predicate.
• Four main types of sentences exist
  • Simple sentences consist of one independent clause (e.g., The cat sat on the mat.).
  • Compound sentences consist of two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (e.g., The cat sat on the mat, and the dog slept on the floor.).
  • Complex sentences consist of one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses (e.g., Because it was raining, the cat sat on the mat.).
  • Compound-complex sentences consist of two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses (e.g., Because it was raining, the cat sat on the mat, and the dog slept on the floor.).

Clauses

• Independent clauses can stand alone as a sentence.
• Dependent clauses cannot stand alone and begin with a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun.

Verb Tenses

• Verb tenses indicate when an action takes place.
• The three main tenses are past, present, and future.
• Each tense has simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous forms.
  • Simple present describes habits, general truths (e.g., I eat breakfast every day.).
  • Present continuous describes actions happening now (e.g., I am eating breakfast now.).
  • Present perfect describes actions starting in the past and continuing to the present, or actions with present results (e.g., I have eaten breakfast.).
  • Present perfect continuous describes actions starting in the past and still continuing (e.g., I have been eating breakfast for an hour.).
  • Simple past describes completed actions in the past (e.g., I ate breakfast yesterday.).
  • Past continuous describes actions in progress at a specific time in the past (e.g., I was eating breakfast when you called.).
  • Past perfect describes actions completed before another action in the past (e.g., I had eaten breakfast before you arrived.).
  • Past perfect continuous describes actions continuing up to a specific time in the past (e.g., I had been eating breakfast for an hour before you arrived.).
  • Simple future describes actions that will happen in the future (e.g., I will eat breakfast tomorrow.).
  • Future continuous describes actions in progress at a specific time in the future (e.g., I will be eating breakfast at 8 am tomorrow.).
  • Future perfect describes actions completed before a specific time in the future (e.g., I will have eaten breakfast by 9 am tomorrow.).
  • Future perfect continuous describes actions continuing up to a specific time in the future (e.g., I will have been eating breakfast for an hour by the time you arrive.).

Subject-Verb Agreement

• The verb must agree in number with its subject.
• Singular subjects take singular verbs (e.g., He eats.).
• Plural subjects take plural verbs (e.g., They eat.).
  • When subjects are joined by "and," use a plural verb (e.g., John and Mary are coming.).
  • When subjects are joined by "or" or "nor," the verb agrees with the subject closest to it (e.g., Neither John nor his friends are coming.).
  • Collective nouns (e.g., team, family) can be singular or plural depending on whether they are acting as a unit or as individuals.

Pronoun Agreement

• A pronoun must agree in number and gender with its antecedent.
• Singular antecedents take singular pronouns (e.g., The dog wagged its tail.).
• Plural antecedents take plural pronouns (e.g., The dogs wagged their tails.).
• Use gender-neutral pronouns (e.g., they, their) when the antecedent's gender is unknown or non-binary.

Punctuation

• Punctuation marks clarify meaning and structure in writing
  • Period (.): Marks the end of a declarative sentence.
  • Comma (,): Separates elements in a list, clauses, and phrases.
  • Question mark (?): Marks the end of an interrogative sentence.
  • Exclamation point (!): Marks the end of an exclamatory sentence.
  • Colon (:): Introduces a list, explanation, or example.
  • Semicolon (;): Connects two independent clauses.
  • Apostrophe (’): Indicates possession or contraction.
  • Quotation marks (“ ”): Enclose direct quotations.

Common Grammatical Errors

• Subject-verb agreement errors involve incorrectly matching singular/plural subjects and verbs.
• Pronoun agreement errors involve incorrectly matching pronoun number and gender with its antecedent.
• Misplaced modifiers are placed in the wrong part of the sentence, causing confusion.
• Dangling modifiers do not have a clear subject to modify.
• Comma splices join two independent clauses with only a comma.
• Run-on sentences join two independent clauses without proper punctuation or conjunctions.
• Fragments are incomplete sentences lacking a subject, verb, or complete thought.

Active and Passive Voice

• Active voice: The subject performs the action (e.g., The dog chased the ball.).
• Passive voice: The subject receives the action (e.g., The ball was chased by the dog.).
• Active voice is generally preferred for clarity and directness.
• Passive voice is useful when the actor is unknown or unimportant.

Conditionals

• Conditional sentences express hypothetical situations and their consequences.
• There are four main types of conditional sentences:
  • Zero conditional: Used for general truths (e.g., If you heat water to 100 degrees Celsius, it boils.).
  • First conditional: Used for possible future events (e.g., If it rains, I will stay home.).
  • Second conditional: Used for hypothetical or unlikely situations (e.g., If I won the lottery, I would travel the world.).
  • Third conditional: Used for hypothetical past events (e.g., If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam.).

Modal Verbs

• Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs expressing possibility, necessity, permission, or ability.
• Common modal verbs include can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, and would.
• They add nuance to the meaning of a verb, such as I can swim (ability) versus I may swim (permission/possibility).

Articles

• Articles are adjectives defining a noun as specific or unspecific.
• A and an are indefinite articles, referring to a non-specific noun (e.g., a dog, an apple).
• The is a definite article, referring to a specific noun (e.g., the dog, the apple).

Use of Tenses

• Verb tense choice is important to show the relationship in time between events.
• Consistent tense usage within a sentence or paragraph is crucial for clarity.
• Unnecessary tense switching can confuse the reader.

Correcting Grammatical Errors

• Identifying grammatical errors requires careful proofreading.
• Understanding grammar rules allows for effective correction.
• Grammar-checking tools can assist in identifying potential errors.

Formal vs. Informal Grammar

• Formal grammar follows strict rules and is used in academic or professional settings.
• Informal grammar is more relaxed and is used in casual conversations or writing.
• The appropriate level of formality depends on the audience and purpose.

Variations in English

• English grammar can vary slightly between different dialects (e.g., American English vs. British English).
• Certain grammatical structures may be more common in one dialect than another.
• Awareness of these variations can help avoid misunderstandings.