Understanding English Grammar

• Grammar constitutes the structural rules governing the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in a natural language.

Parts of Speech

• Nouns represent people, places, things, or ideas (e.g., dog, city, freedom).
• Pronouns replace nouns (e.g., he, she, it, they).
• Verbs describe actions or states of being (e.g., run, is, become).
• Adjectives modify nouns (e.g., big, red, interesting).
• 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 a sentence (e.g., in, on, at, under).
• Conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses (e.g., and, but, or, because).
• Interjections express strong emotion (e.g., Wow! Ouch!).

Sentence Structure

• Subjects are nouns/pronouns that perform the action of the verb.
• Predicates contain the verb, telling about the subject.
• Objects are nouns/pronouns that receive the action of the verb.
• Phrases are related words lacking a subject and verb.
• Clauses are related words containing a subject and verb.
• Independent Clauses can stand alone as a sentence.
• Dependent Clauses cannot stand alone as a sentence.

Types of Sentences

• Simple Sentences contain one independent clause (e.g., The dog barked.).
• Compound Sentences contain two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (e.g., The dog barked, and the cat meowed.).
• Complex Sentences contain one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses (e.g., Because it was raining, we stayed inside.).
• Compound-Complex Sentences contain two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses (e.g., Because it was raining, we stayed inside, and we watched a movie.).

Verb Tenses

• Present Tense describes actions happening now (e.g., I walk).
• Past Tense describes actions that happened in the past (e.g., I walked).
• Future Tense describes actions that will happen in the future (e.g., I will walk).
• Perfect Tenses indicate completed actions (e.g., I have walked, I had walked, I will have walked).
• Progressive Tenses indicate ongoing actions (e.g., I am walking, I was walking, I will be walking).

Subject-Verb Agreement

• Singular subjects take singular verbs (e.g., He walks).
• Plural subjects take plural verbs (e.g., They walk).
• 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

• Pronouns must agree in number and gender with the nouns they refer to (e.g., The dog wagged its tail.).

Common Grammatical Errors

• Subject-Verb Agreement Errors happen when the verb does not agree in number with the subject.
• Pronoun Agreement Errors happen when the pronoun does not agree in number or gender with the noun it refers to.
• Misplaced Modifiers happen when a modifier is placed too far from the word it modifies, causing confusion.
• Dangling Modifiers happen when a modifier does not have a word to modify.
• Incorrect Tense Usage occurs when the wrong verb tense is used for the intended meaning.
• Comma Splices happen when two independent clauses are joined by only a comma.
• Run-On Sentences happen when two or more independent clauses are joined without proper punctuation or conjunctions.
• Fragments are incomplete sentences lacking a subject or a verb.

Punctuation

• Period (.) ends declarative sentences.
• Question Mark (?) ends interrogative sentences.
• Exclamation Point (!) ends sentences of strong emotion.
• Comma (,) separates list items, joins independent clauses with coordinating conjunctions, and sets off introductory phrases/clauses.
• Semicolon (;) joins two closely related independent clauses.
• Colon (:) introduces a list, explanation, or example.
• Apostrophe (') indicates possession or creates contractions.
• Quotation Marks ("") enclose direct quotations.
• Hyphen (-) joins words/parts of words.
• Dash (—) indicates sudden breaks or sets off parenthetical info.
• Parentheses ( ) enclose additional information.
• Brackets [ ] enclose clarifying information within quotations.
• Ellipsis (...) indicates omitted words or a pause.

Clauses

• Adjective Clauses modify a noun or pronoun (e.g., The book that I borrowed was interesting.).
• Adverb Clauses modify a verb, adjective, or adverb (e.g., Because it was raining, we stayed inside.).
• Noun Clauses function as a noun (e.g., What he said was a surprise.).

Phrases

• Noun Phrases function as a noun (e.g., The big red ball).
• Verb Phrases include the main verb and any auxiliary verbs (e.g., will be going).
• Prepositional Phrases begin with a preposition and include a noun/pronoun (e.g., on the table).
• Infinitive Phrases include an infinitive (to + verb) and any modifiers/complements (e.g., to run quickly).
• Gerund Phrases include a gerund (verb ending in -ing) and any modifiers/complements (e.g., reading books).
• Participial Phrases include a participle (verb form ending in -ing or -ed) and any modifiers/complements (e.g., walking down the street).

Active and Passive Voice

• Active Voice means the subject performs the action (e.g., The dog chased the ball.).
• Passive Voice means the subject receives the action (e.g., The ball was chased by the dog.).

Mood

• Indicative Mood states a fact or asks a question (e.g., It is raining. Is it raining?).
• Imperative Mood gives a command or makes a request (e.g., Stop!).
• Subjunctive Mood expresses a wish, doubt, condition contrary to fact, or suggestion (e.g., I wish I were taller.).

Figures of Speech

• Simile compares using "like" or "as" (e.g., He is as brave as a lion).
• Metaphor is a direct comparison (e.g., He is a lion in battle).
• Personification gives human qualities to non-human things (e.g., The wind whispered).
• Hyperbole is an exaggeration (e.g., I'm so hungry I could eat a horse).
• Understatement presents something as less significant than it is (e.g., "It's a bit chilly" when it's freezing).
• Irony uses words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning (e.g., Saying "Great weather!" during a hurricane).

Usage

• Affect (verb, to influence) vs. Effect (noun, a result).
• There (place), Their (possession), and They're (they are).
• To (preposition), Too (also/excessively), and Two (number).
• Its (possession) vs. It's (it is).
• Who's (who is) vs. Whose (possession).
• Your (possession) vs. You're (you are).

Capitalization

• Capitalize the first word of a sentence.
• Capitalize proper nouns (names, places, organizations).
• Capitalize titles before a name (e.g., Dr. Smith).
• Capitalize days, months, and holidays.

Commonly Confused Words

• Accept (to receive) vs. Except (to exclude).
• Advice (noun, recommendation) vs. Advise (verb, to give advice).
• Lose (to misplace) vs. Loose (not tight).
• Than (comparison) vs. Then (time/sequence).
• Principal (leading person/sum of money/main) vs. Principle (fundamental truth/rule).

Agreement

• Collective Noun Agreement: Collective nouns (team, family, committee) can be singular or plural depending on whether they act as a unit or as individuals.
• Either/Or, Neither/Nor: When using either/or or neither/nor, the verb agrees with the noun closest to it.

Parallelism

• Items in a list or series should be in the same grammatical form (e.g., I like hiking, biking, and swimming).
• Correlative conjunctions (e.g., not only/but also, either/or) should connect grammatically similar elements.

Redundancy

• Avoid unnecessary repetition of words or ideas (e.g., "completely finish" should be "finish").

Word Choice

• Use precise language to convey your intended meaning.
• Avoid jargon or overly technical terms unless your audience understands them.
• Be aware of connotations (emotional associations) of words.

Style

• Clarity: Write in a clear and understandable manner.
• Conciseness: Avoid unnecessary words or phrases.
• Tone: Maintain a consistent and appropriate tone for your audience and purpose.
• Voice: Use active voice whenever possible for direct and clear writing.