Understanding Parts of Speech

• Grammar is the system and structure of a language, encompassing rules for syntax, morphology, and phonology
• It dictates how words combine into phrases and sentences to convey meaning

Parts of Speech

• Nouns: Words that represent people, places, things, or ideas (e.g., book, John, city, love)
• Pronouns: Words that replace nouns to avoid repetition (e.g., he, she, it, they, we, you, I)
• Verbs: Words that express actions or states of being (e.g., run, is, become, sing)
• Adjectives: Words that modify or describe nouns (e.g., red, tall, beautiful, interesting)
• Adverbs: Words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs (e.g., quickly, very, well, extremely)
• Prepositions: Words that show the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in the sentence (e.g., in, on, at, to, from, with)
• Conjunctions: Words that connect words, phrases, or clauses (e.g., and, but, or, so, because)
• Interjections: Words that express strong emotion (e.g., Wow! Ouch! Help!)

Sentence Structure

• Subject: The noun or pronoun that performs the action of the verb
• Predicate: The part of the sentence containing the verb and everything that follows
• Object: A noun or pronoun that receives the action of a verb
• Phrase: A group of related words that does not contain a subject and a verb
• Clause: A group of related words containing a subject and a verb

Types of Sentences

• Simple Sentence: Contains one independent clause (e.g., The cat sat on the mat.)
• Compound Sentence: Contains two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (e.g., The cat sat on the mat, and the dog slept on the rug.)
• Complex Sentence: Contains one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses (e.g., Because it was raining, the cat sat on the mat.)
• Compound-Complex Sentence: Contains 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 rug.)

Verb Tenses

• Present Simple: Used for habits, general truths, and permanent situations (e.g., I eat breakfast every day.)
• Present Continuous: Used for actions happening now or around now (e.g., I am eating breakfast now.)
• Present Perfect Simple: Used for actions that started in the past and continue to the present or have a result in the present (e.g., I have eaten breakfast.)
• Present Perfect Continuous: Used for actions that started in the past and continue to the present, emphasizing the duration (e.g., I have been eating breakfast for an hour.)
• Past Simple: Used for finished actions in the past (e.g., I ate breakfast yesterday.)
• Past Continuous: Used for actions in progress at a specific time in the past (e.g., I was eating breakfast when you called.)
• Past Perfect Simple: Used for actions completed before another action in the past (e.g., I had eaten breakfast before you arrived.)
• Past Perfect Continuous: Used for actions that were in progress before another action in the past (e.g., I had been eating breakfast for an hour before you arrived.)
• Future Simple: Used for predictions or spontaneous decisions (e.g., I will eat breakfast tomorrow.)
• Future Continuous: Used for actions that will be in progress at a specific time in the future (e.g., I will be eating breakfast at 8 am tomorrow.)
• Future Perfect Simple: Used for actions that will be completed before a specific time in the future (e.g., I will have eaten breakfast by 9 am tomorrow.)
• Future Perfect Continuous: Used for actions that will have been in progress for a period of time before a specific time in the future (e.g., I will have been eating breakfast for two hours by 9 am tomorrow.)

Agreement

• Subject-Verb Agreement: Singular subjects take singular verbs, and plural subjects take plural verbs (e.g., He eats; They eat.)
• Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement: Pronouns must agree in number and gender with their antecedents (e.g., The student completed his homework.)

Punctuation

• Period (.): Marks the end of a declarative sentence
• Question Mark (?): Marks the end of an interrogative sentence
• Exclamation Point (!): Marks the end of an exclamatory sentence
• Comma (,): Separates items in a list, clauses, and phrases; also used for introductory elements
• Semicolon (;): Connects two independent clauses
• Colon (:): Introduces a list, explanation, or example
• Apostrophe ('): Indicates possession or omission of letters (e.g., John's, can't)
• Quotation Marks (" "): Enclose direct quotations

Common Grammatical Errors

• Subject-Verb Disagreement: Using a singular verb with a plural subject or vice versa.
• Pronoun Agreement Errors: Using a pronoun that does not agree in number or gender with its antecedent
• Misplaced Modifiers: Placing a modifier in the wrong part of the sentence, making it unclear what it modifies
• Dangling Modifiers: Leaving a modifier without a clear subject to modify
• Incorrect Verb Tense: Using the wrong verb tense to express the timing of an action
• Run-on Sentences: Combining two or more independent clauses without proper punctuation or conjunctions
• Comma Splices: Joining two independent clauses with only a comma
• Incorrect Word Usage: Using words that sound alike but have different meanings (e.g., there/their/they're, to/too/two)