Parts of Speech and Sentence Structure

Parts of Speech

• Nouns: Words that name people, places, things, or ideas. Examples: dog, city, happiness, justice.
• Pronouns: Words that replace nouns. Examples: he, she, it, they, we, me, him, her, ours.
• Verbs: Words that show action or state of being. Examples: run, swim, is, are, was, were.
• Adjectives: Words that describe nouns or pronouns. Examples: big, red, happy, intelligent.
• Adverbs: Words that describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Examples: quickly, loudly, very, extremely.
• Prepositions: Words that show the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in the sentence. Examples: on, in, at, by, with, to.
• Conjunctions: Words that connect words, phrases, or clauses. Examples: and, but, or, because, so.
• Interjections: Words or phrases expressing strong emotion. Examples: Wow!, Ouch!, Alas!

Sentence Structure

• Subject-Verb-Object (SVO): The basic order of a declarative sentence. (Subject performs the action of the verb on the object). Examples: The dog chased the cat.
• Subject-Verb (SV): Sentences that express a state of being. Example: The cat is sleeping.
• Simple Sentences: One independent clause. Example: The dog barked.
• Compound Sentences: Two or more independent clauses joined by a conjunction or punctuation. Example: The dog barked, and the cat ran.
• Complex Sentences: An independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. Example: Because the dog barked, the cat ran.
• Compound-Complex Sentences: Two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses. Example: Because the dog barked, the cat ran, and the owner got worried.

Parts of a Clause

• Independent Clause: Can stand alone as a complete sentence. Example: The dog ran.
• Dependent Clause: Cannot stand alone as a complete sentence. Often begin with conjunctions such as because, although, when. Example: Because the dog ran fast.

Tenses

• Present Tense: Expresses actions happening now, habitual actions, or general truths. Examples: I walk, He eats, Water boils.
• Past Tense: Expresses actions that happened in the past. Example: I walked, He ate, Water boiled.
• Future Tense: Expresses actions that will happen in the future. Example: I will walk, He will eat, Water will boil.
• Perfect Tenses (present perfect, past perfect, future perfect): Express actions completed at a specified time in the past, present, or future. Examples: I have walked, I had walked, I will have walked.
• Progressive Tenses (present progressive, past progressive, future progressive): Express actions happening at the moment of speaking, or during a specific period of time in the past or future. Examples: I am walking, I was walking, I will be walking.

Agreement

• Subject-Verb Agreement: The verb must agree with the subject in number (singular or plural). Example: The dog barks, The dogs bark.
• Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement: Pronouns must agree with the nouns or pronouns they replace (antecedents) in number and gender. Example: The dog chased its tail, The dogs chased their tails.

Punctuation

• Commas: Used for separating items in a list, separating clauses, and indicating pauses.
• Periods: End of declarative or imperative sentences.
• Question Marks: End of interrogative sentences.
• Exclamation Points: End of exclamatory sentences or to show strong emotion.
• Colons and Semicolons delineate different sentence structures, joining related ideas.

Common Grammatical Errors

• Subject-verb disagreement
• Misplaced modifiers
• Run-on sentences
• Fragments
• Pronoun errors
• Tense inconsistencies
• Word choice errors

Style Guides

• Different style guides (e.g., MLA, APA, Chicago) provide consistent formatting and writing conventions for academic and professional writing. Knowing the requirements of these guides is vital for clear communication.

Grammar Rules

• Consistency in tense usage
• Proper word choice
• Proper use of punctuation
• Accuracy in sentence structure

Advanced Concepts

• Verbals (Gerunds, Participles, Infinitives): Non-finite verb forms used as nouns, adjectives or adverbs.
• Voice (Active and Passive): Represents how the subject relates to the action.
• Modifiers (Adjectives and Adverbs): Used to describe or provide more detail.
• Clauses and phrases
• Constructions with idioms and colloquialisms.
• Figurative language in writing.
• Formal vs. Informal writing styles.