Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics Overview PDF

Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics: An Overview Grammar describes the parts of speech and how they are used to craft meaningful sentences. Usage refers to how a word or phrase is used and describes vocabulary use. Mechanics is the rules and conventions governing the technical aspects of written langua...

Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics: An Overview Grammar describes the parts of speech and how they are used to craft meaningful sentences. Usage refers to how a word or phrase is used and describes vocabulary use. Mechanics is the rules and conventions governing the technical aspects of written language, including spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. Grammar, usage, and mechanics are three inseparable aspects of language. They are essential tools in writing, speaking, and understanding the English language correctly. These three components help you develop a foundation to write confidently, learn naturally and communicate clearly. They must be blended to make writing clear and grammatically correct. 1\. Capitalization Rules  The first word in a sentence should begin with a capital letter.  Proper nouns such as people's names and the names of specific places should begin with a capital letter. e.g., Johnson, United Kingdom.  Capitalize the initials of names. e.g., James Godwin (J.P.)  The word I should always be capitalized.  Capitalize the first letter of days of the week and months of the year, e.g., February, Monday.  Titles of respect should begin with a capital letter. e.g., Dr. Mr. Prof 2\. Sentence construction  Sentences in written English are not particularly long. This is good news for English learners because it means you don't need to worry about writing long, complex sentences.  A sentence usually has two, or possibly three, clauses (subject + verb + object), linked by a conjunction (see above).  A good way to make your sentences even clearer is to add commas. Commas help the reader understand where one phrase finishes and another begins. The most common occasions where it's recommended to put a comma are:  between two clauses. For example, If the weather is nice tomorrow, we're going to the park.  to separate items in a list. For example, Our kids like swimming, skiing, ice-skating and cycling.  after some conjunctions. For example, Our holiday was great and the hotel was wonderful. However, the weather was awful.  for extra information in the middle of a sentence (a non-defining clause). For example, My neighbor, who's from Brazil, is really good at cooking. The concept of Subject and Predicate There are two parts to a complete sentence -. Subject and predicate. People often mistake the subject as the starting part of the sentence or the noun. But the subject of a sentence can be a part of speech or a whole clause. There is no direct correlation between the elements of the sentence and the parts of speech. The elements of the sentence, like the parts of speech, are part of the basic grammatical vocabulary, and you should spend some time learning and understanding them. What is Subject and Predicate? A complete sentence that makes meaning has two parts -- Subject and Predicate. The subject and predicate, which make up a sentence, are made up of these two components of speech. A sentence's subject is any object (noun), i.e. what or person the sentence is about. In contrast, a sentence's predicate is information about the subject (What action is being performed by the subject). For Example : Sheena is sleeping in the sun, The word Sheena is a name, i.e. a Noun, and so, it is the subject. As stated, the remaining part will be the predicate. So 'sleeping in the sun' is the Predicate, as it tells us what action is being carried out. "He reads." The Subject is he, and the Predicate is reads. "Malou's sisters are going to the pool." This sentence is about Malou's sisters; they are the subject. The Predicate is "going to the pool" because it shows what the sisters are doing. Most of the time, the subject comes before or at the start of the sentence but not always. This is where people mainly make mistakes. The Subject must be associated with the noun and Predicate with the verb that the noun is performing. Types of Subject and Predicate You have two possibilities for categorizing subjects and predicates. They can be simple or complicated. When looking at the subjects or predicates separately, you can see the difference. Simple Subjects: Subjects with only one performer are known as simple subjects. It makes no difference what the Subject is doing; all that matters is that there is only one. For example, Alina went to the Church. Simple Predicate: When the subject just accomplishes one thing, this is a simple predicate (or is only one thing). This usually indicates that there is only one verb. Example: The Kitten sat on the table. (sat on the table). Compound Subjects: Two or more individuals and things are involved in the compound subjects. The key to grasping this is that plural nouns are not used when there are two or more people. For example, The children's books and backpacks went missing while they were at lunch. (children's book and backpacks) Compound Predicates: Similarly, when we talk about compound predicates, we consider multiple, but multiple is a verb or action. In this, the subject performs two actions at a time, so it becomes a compound predicate. See the examples below: The Kitten had water and sat on the table. (had water and sat on the table). You now know the distinction between simple and complex subjects and predicates. This is a worksheet that you can use to test your subject knowledge. Take a stab at the five questions listed below. This will aid you in checking your understanding of the topic discussed. The answers can be found at the bottom of the article. Identify Subjects and Predicates: The teacher gave her students homework. She painted her bedroom black and blue. Craig won a trophy in the sports competition The bank opened at noon. The cat stretched. Answers -- Subject: The teacher Predicate: gave her students homework. Subject: She Predicate: painted her bedroom black and blue. Subject: Craig Predicate: won a trophy in the sports competition. Subject: The bank Predicate: opened at noon. Subject: The cat Predicate: stretched. 3\. Remember the word order for questions  In English, the structure of questions is different to the affirmative form. So make sure you remember to change the order of the words or add the auxiliary 'do'. There are four ways to make questions in English:  'to be' -- for questions using the verb 'to be', invert the subject and verb. For example, Are you a student?  all other verbs -- to make questions for all other verbs, add the auxiliary 'do'. For example, Do they work here?  modal verbs -- to make questions with modal verbs, invert the modal verb and the subject. For example, Can he play the piano?  auxiliary verbs -- for sentences containing an auxiliary verb, like ''have' in the present perfect, invert the auxiliary verb and the subject. For example, Have you seen Bob?  These rules still apply when you add a question word like what, how, why. For example:  Where are you from?  When can we meet?  Why have they left? 4\. Make Sure Your Subjects and Verbs Agree  You may not expect to find disagreement in a sentence about kittens, but the sentence "My kittens wants food" is definitely having an argument with itself. The subject (kittens) is plural, but the verb (wants) is singular.  For subject-verb agreement, match singular subjects to singular verbs and plural subjects to plural verbs. o My kitten wants food. (singular subject, singular verb) o My kittens want food. (plural subject, plural verb) 5\. Link Ideas with a Conjunction or Semicolon  Although writing in simple sentences is grammatically correct, it's not very interesting. Combine your simple sentences with coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet so) to make compound sentences. o Delia found a cat, and she named it Purdy. o Our team won the championship, so we got a trophy.  You can also mix it up by using a semicolon instead of a conjunction. o Delia found a cat; she named it Purdy. o Our team won the championship; we got a trophy.  The most common conjunctions are:  and -- addition  because -- to give the reason  but -- to express contrast  so -- to describe a consequence  or -- to describe an alternative Here are some examples: He likes football and he plays in a team. We're going out because we're bored. She wants to study more but she doesn't have time. Kim is coming round so I'm cleaning my flat. Would you like tea or coffee? 6\. Use Commas Correctly  While you can use a comma with a coordinating conjunction, you can't use a comma alone to combine independent clauses. That's an error known as a comma splice, and it creates run-on sentences. Use a comma only if you're also using a coordinating conjunction. o Delia found a cat, she named it Purdy. (Incorrect - comma splice) o Our team won the championship, and we got a trophy. (Correct - with coordinating conjunction) 7\. Use a Serial Comma When Necessary  When listing items in a sentence, you separate them with commas. The last comma in the series is called the Oxford comma, and not everyone likes it. o We bought some goats, cows, and horses for our farm. (Oxford comma) o We bought some goats, cows and horses for our farm. (No Oxford comma)  Whether you regularly use an Oxford comma is up to you and your style guide. However, you should always use an Oxford comma when the sentence could be confusing without it. o The farmer saw the goats, Gil, and Pierre. (Oxford comma clarifies that there are goats and two people named Gil and Pierre) o The farmer saw the goats, Gil and Pierre. (No Oxford comma makes it sound like the goats are named Gil and Pierre) 8\. Use Active Voice  Sentences in active voice put the subject before the verb. For example, in the active sentence "The duck ate the bread," the duck is the subject. It performs the action in the verb (ate) to the object in the sentence (the bread).  In these examples, the subjects are bold, the verbs are underlined, and the objects are italicized. o Shelby dried the dishes. (Active --- Shelby is the subject) o Mary walked the dog. (Active --- Mary is the subject)  Passive voice sentences place the subject after the verb --- or they leave the subject out completely. "The bread was eaten by the duck" is a passive sentence because the subject (the duck) comes after the verb (was eaten). The object of the sentence (the bread) somehow ends up at the beginning of the sentence, which makes it confusing to read. o The dishes were dried by Shelby. (Passive --- the subject is after the verb) o The dog was walked by Mary. (Passive - the subject is missing)  Writing in passive voice makes your sentences confusing and your meaning unclear. Luckily, it's easy to turn passive voice into active voice. 8\. Use the Correct Verb Tense  Using a verb tense that doesn't match your time period is like stepping into a broken time machine. When did the action happen --- today, tomorrow, or one hundred years ago? Is it still happening?  Make sure that you've got the correct tense for the time period you're describing. o Present tense - something that happens all the time, or is happening right now (Mary and I eat lunch every Tuesday.) o Past tense - something that happened before now (Mary and I ate lunch.) o Future tense - something that will happen in the future (Mary and I will eat lunch.)  When talking about a continuous action, you can use present, past, or future progressive tense (with -ing verb endings). If you're talking about something that happened across a span of time, use perfect verb tenses (with the modal verb have or had). 9\. Keep Your Verb Tense Consistent  Another part of using the correct verb tense concerns consistency. If you start your sentence (or paragraph, or page, or book) in one tense, you need to make sure the rest of your writing is also in that tense. You can go back and forth if you're talking about different time periods, but be careful not to mix them up. o Incorrect - Stuart lost his wallet. He goes to the bank and gets some cash, then he went to the restaurant. (The tense goes from past to present, back to past again) o Correct - Stuart lost his wallet. He went to the bank and got some cash, then he went to the restaurant. (Tense stays in the past) o Correct - Stuart loses his wallet. He goes to the bank and gets some cash, then he goes to the restaurant. (Tense stays in the present)  Present Tense- Add S when talking about Singular Nouns (he, she, it, everyone, everybody, no one, nobody, either, neither, someone, somebody, anyone, anybody) Examples:  Taylor writes her original lyrics.  Harry dreams of being a wizard.  She wants to marry you.  Nobody cares for your Facebook status.  Everyone knows this is the best reviewer.  Don't add S when talking about Plural Nouns like -- I, You, We, They and other plural nouns Examples:  I love her to the moon and back.  You care for me more than you should.  We review the CSE pointers to ace the coming exam.  They watch the concert to see Justin.  Her children study together every night.  Many students volunteer for the show.  Past Tense- Add D or ED to regular verbs, used when talking about the past. Irregular verbs, change their spelling: Examples:  give -- gave -- Last Christmas, I gave you my heart.  write -- wrote -- I wrote a letter yesterday when I was absent.  Past Participle- Use Has (if singular noun) or Have (if plural noun) following the past participle form of the verb. Examples:  She has written the most romantic poem. -- since "she" is a singular noun, use HAS \+ Past participle form of verb  They have written the funniest story. -- since "they" is a plural noun, use HAVE + Past participle form of the verb 10\. Only Use Apostrophes for Possessive Nouns and Contractions  Many people use apostrophes in plural nouns because --- well, we're not sure why. Apostrophes note when letters are missing in a contraction, and they indicate a singular or plural noun's possession. Those are the only jobs of an apostrophe. o Correct - Xander can't wait until summer vacation. (can't is a contraction of cannot) o Correct - Did you borrow the neighbor's car? (neighbor's is a possessive noun) o Correct - This is the writers&\#39; room. (writers' is a plural possessive noun) o Incorrect - Merry Christmas from the Henderson's! (Hendersons is plural, not possessive)  The rare time you'd use an apostrophe to show plurals is for plural lowercase letters (as in "Mind your p's and q's"). Otherwise, keep them away from your plural nouns.  Use an apostrophe to join two words in a contraction or to form the possessive of a noun. e.g., shouldn't, Eddy's. 11\. Keep Your Homophones Straight  Homophonic words are words that are pronounced in the same way as other words but have different meanings, even if they are spelt differently. This can obviously create confusion and unfortunately there are many of these words in English.  Using too when you mean to is a common --- and avoidable --- mistake. Make sure you know the difference between common homophones to keep your meaning clear. o two vs. to vs too o your vs. you're o there vs. their vs. they're o except vs. accept o then vs. than  These aren't the only commonly confused words in English. Find the ones that confuse you the most and learn how to tell them apart.  So when you're writing, be careful to choose the right spelling. And when you listen, remember that a word you think you understood may have another meaning. Try to understand that meaning from the context. 12\. Use End Punctuation Correctly  All good things must come to an end, and that includes your sentence. Be sure that you're using the correct end punctuation mark for your sentence for the tone you want.  Period - Paul asked Sadie to the dance. (Serious or neutral tone) o Question mark - Paul asked Sadie to dance? (Confused tone)  Exclamation point- Paul asked Sadie to the dance. (Excited tone)  If your sentence ends in a quote or dialogue, put your end punctuation (also called terminal punctuation) inside the quotation marks as well.  A question mark should be used at the end of a sentence that poses a question. 13. Never use a double negative A double negative is a statement which contains two negative words. If two negatives are used in one sentence, the opposite meaning may be conveyed. In many British, American, and other dialects, two or more negatives can be used with a single negative meaning.  In English there are often two ways to express a negative concept. For example, if you want to say the room is empty, you can say:  There is nothing in the room. OR There isn't anything in the room.  The words 'nothing' and 'anything' have the same meaning, but 'nothing' is used with an affirmative verb, and 'anything' is used with a negative verb.  This rule applies to other words like:  nobody -- anybody  none -- any  This is also true of the word 'never' when you talk about experience. You can say:  He's never been to the U.S. OR He hasn't ever been to the U.S. Incorrect: I ain&\#39;t seen nobody. However, English and American usage commentators perceive the double negative form as rustic, uneducated, and nonstandard. Here is a more standard form of the above example: Correcting Double Negatives Correct: I haven&\#39;t seen anybody. The most frequently used negative words are no, not, nothing, never, none, no one, nowhere, neither, and nobody. There are some words which have a negative element in their meanings although they contain no overly negative affix. These words are: hardly, scarcely, barely, etc. Incorrect: I haven&\#39;t barely started to think about my exam. Correct: I have barely started to think about my exam. Nobody, nothing, never are considered emphatic. Be careful when you use these words. Use not anybody, not ever instead. Anybody, anything, and ever are not negative and have to be used with not to convey a negative meaning. There are justifiable uses of two negative words in a sentence. Correct: There is no way I cannot visit my mother this year. In the sentence above, the use of double negatives is emphatic \-- "I must visit my mother." Correct: I wasn&\#39;t unhappy with my grade. Here the double negative is used to intend a positive or lukewarm meaning \-- "I wasn&\#39;t displeased, but I wasn&\#39;t elated either about my grade." Two negative ideas can be expressed with not\... or and not\... nor conjunctions. When not is followed by two or more verbs, nouns, or adjectives, it is joined by or. Correct: He doesn&\#39;t drink or dance. Use nor after a phrase to separate and emphasize a second verb, adjective, or noun. Correct: Our main objective is not oil, nor power. It is stability in the region. Miss has a negative meaning and does not need to have a negative added. Incorrect: I miss not seeing him every day. Correct: I miss seeing him every day. There are several ways of correcting a double negative: Incorrect: The waitress wasn&\#39;t doing nothing but standing around smoking. Correct: The waitress wasn&\#39;t doing anything but standing around smoking. Correct: The waitress was doing nothing but standing around smoking. Incorrect: The shopper did not have no energy left at the end of the day. Correct: The shopper did not have any energy left at the end of the day. Correct: The shopper had no energy left at the end of the day. Correct: Sadly, I scarcely had a penny left in my purse. Incorrect: Sadly, I didn&\#39;t scarcely have a penny left in my purse. Correct: Since his last paper gained little support, the linguist was not surprised that he had not been asked to present again. Incorrect: Since his last paper gained little support, the linguist was surprised that he had not been asked to present again. Correct: Sadie won&\#39;t talk to anybody about her problems. Incorrect: Sadie won&\#39;t talk to nobody about her problems.