Understanding English Grammar

• Grammar: The structural rules governing the composition of clauses, phrases, and words
• Encompasses morphology, syntax, phonology, and semantics
• Morphology: Focuses on the internal structure of words
• Syntax: Focuses on how words combine into phrases and sentences
• Phonology: Focuses on a language's sound system
• Semantics: Focuses on the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences

Parts of Speech

• Nouns: Represent people, places, things, or ideas; examples include dog, city, happiness
• Pronouns: Replace nouns to prevent repetition; examples include he, she, it, they
• Verbs: Express actions or states of being; examples include run, is, become
• Adjectives: Describe nouns; examples include big, red, interesting
• Adverbs: Modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs; examples include quickly, very, well
• Prepositions: Relate a noun or pronoun to other words; examples include on, in, at, to, from
• Conjunctions: Connect words, phrases, or clauses; examples include and, but, or, so
• Interjections: Express strong emotions; examples include Wow! Ouch! Help!

Nouns

• Common nouns: General names for people, places, things, or ideas, like *dog, city, book
• Proper nouns: Specific names that are capitalized, like John, London, Bible
• Concrete nouns: Refer to tangible things, like table, flower, music
• Abstract nouns: Refer to intangible concepts, like love, freedom, justice
• Countable nouns: Can be counted and have plurals, like apple, car, friend
• Uncountable nouns: Cannot be counted and usually lack plurals, like water, sand, information
• Collective nouns: Refer to groups, like team, family, committee

Pronouns

• Personal pronouns: Refer to specific people/things (I, you, he, she, it, we, they)
• Possessive pronouns: Indicate ownership (mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs)
• Reflexive pronouns: Refer to the subject (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves)
• Intensive pronouns: Emphasize nouns/pronouns (I myself saw it)
• Demonstrative pronouns: Point out specific items (this, that, these, those)
• Interrogative pronouns: Used in questions (who, whom, what, which, whose)
• Relative pronouns: Connect clauses (who, whom, which, that, whose)
• Indefinite pronouns: Refer to nonspecific items (someone, anyone, everyone, no one, some, any, every, no, all, none, few, many, several, most)

Verbs

• Action verbs: Express physical/mental actions (run, think, sing)
• Linking verbs: Connect subject to descriptive noun/adjective (is, are, was, etc.)
• Auxiliary verbs: Help main verbs express tense/mood/voice (be, have, do, can, etc.)
• Transitive verbs: Take a direct object (He kicked the ball)
• Intransitive verbs: Lack a direct object (She sleeps)

Verb Tenses

• Simple present is used for habits, facts (I eat, he eats)
• Present continuous is used for actions happening now (I am eating, he is eating)
• Simple past is used for completed past actions (I ate, he ate)
• Past continuous is used for past actions in progress (I was eating, he was eating)
• Simple future is used for future actions (I will eat, he will eat)
• Future continuous is used for actions in progress in the future (I will be eating, he will be eating)
• Present perfect is used for actions from the past to the present (I have eaten, he has eaten)
• Past perfect is used for actions completed before another past action (I had eaten, he had eaten)
• Future perfect is used for actions completed before a future time (I will have eaten, he will have eaten)
• Present perfect continuous is used for actions starting in the past and still in progress (I have been eating, he has been eating)
• Past perfect continuous is used for actions in progress before another past action (I had been eating, he had been eating)
• Future perfect continuous is used for actions in progress before a specific future time (I will have been eating, he will have been eating)

Adjectives

• Descriptive adjectives describe nouns/pronouns (red, tall, beautiful)
• Limiting adjectives specify noun quantity (one, few, many)
• Proper adjectives are capitalized and derived from proper nouns (American, Shakespearean)
• Demonstrative adjectives point out nouns (this book, that car, these apples, those flowers)
• Interrogative adjectives ask questions about nouns (Which car? Whose book?)
• Possessive adjectives show ownership (my, your, his, her, its, our, their)

Adverbs

• Adverbs of manner describe how actions are performed (quickly, slowly, carefully)
• Adverbs of time describe when actions occur (now, then, later, yesterday)
• Adverbs of place describe where actions occur (here, there, everywhere, nowhere)
• Adverbs of frequency describe how often actions occur (always, often, sometimes, never)
• Adverbs of degree describe the intensity of actions/adjectives (very, quite, extremely)
• Interrogative adverbs are used to ask questions (where, when, why, how)
• Conjunctive adverbs connect independent clauses (however, therefore, moreover)

Prepositions

• Simple prepositions consist of a single word (in, on, at, to, from, with, for, by)
• Compound prepositions consist of multiple words (in front of, because of, according to)
• Prepositions of time indicate when something occurs (at, on, in, before, after)
• Prepositions of place indicate where something is located (in, on, at, above, below, beside)
• Prepositions of direction indicate movement (to, from, into, through)

Conjunctions

• Coordinating conjunctions connect equal elements (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet)
• Subordinating conjunctions connect dependent and independent clauses (because, although, if, since, when, while)
• Correlative conjunctions are pairs that connect equal elements (both...and, either...or, neither...nor, not only...but also)

Phrases

• Noun phrase: Functions as a noun (the big red car)
• Verb phrase: Includes main and auxiliary verbs (is running, will be going)
• Adjective phrase: Modifies nouns/pronouns and contains an adjective (very beautiful, quite tall)
• Adverb phrase: Modifies verbs/adjectives/adverbs and contains an adverb (very quickly, quite well)
• Prepositional phrase: Starts with a preposition (on the table, in the garden)
• Appositive phrase: Renames a noun (My friend, John)

Clauses

• Independent clause: Stands alone as a sentence (I went to the store)
• Dependent clause: Cannot stand alone (Because it was raining)
• Adjective clause: Modifies a noun/pronoun (The book that I read was interesting)
• Adverb clause: Modifies a verb/adjective/adverb (I went to bed because I was tired)
• Noun clause: Functions as a noun (I know what you did)

Sentence Structure

• Simple sentence: One independent clause (I went to the park)
• Compound sentence: Two+ independent clauses with conjunction/semicolon (I went to the park, and I played frisbee)
• Complex sentence: One independent + one+ dependent clauses (Because it was sunny, I went to the park)
• Compound-complex sentence: Two+ independent + one+ dependent clauses (Because it was sunny, I went to the park, and I played frisbee)

Punctuation

• Period (.): Ends declarative sentences
• Question mark (?): Ends interrogative sentences
• Exclamation point (!): Ends exclamatory sentences
• Comma (,): Separates series elements, introductory elements, and independent clauses with coordinating conjunctions
• Semicolon (;): Joins related independent clauses or separates complex series items
• Colon (:): Introduces lists, explanations, or quotations
• Apostrophe ('): Indicates possession or forms contractions
• Quotation marks (" "): Enclose direct quotations
• Parentheses ( ): Enclose additional information
• Dashes (—): Set off interrupting information
• Hyphen (-): Joins words/parts of words

Subject-Verb Agreement

• Singular subjects use singular verbs (He runs)
• Plural subjects use plural verbs (They run)
• Collective nouns usually take singular verbs (The team is playing well)
• Compound subjects joined by "and" usually take plural verbs (John and Mary are coming)
• With "either/or" or "neither/nor," the verb agrees with the closest subject (Either John or his brothers are coming)

Common Grammatical Errors

• Subject-verb agreement errors
• Pronoun-antecedent agreement errors
• Misplaced/dangling modifiers
• Incorrect tense usage
• Incorrect comma/semicolon/apostrophe use
• Run-on sentences and comma splices
• Lack of parallelism
• Vague pronoun reference