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Grammar
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Introduction
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The goal of this list is to offer 100 simple bullet points on the basics of English Grammar.
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Caution: As the author I should know grammar, yet I'm not so great at it. Thus I'm writing this to learn! Let me know of any errors in this publication.
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Quick Sheet
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* Parts of a speech: NOUN names a person, place, thing, idea; Bob, Jail, Cantaloupe, Loyalty, etc. PRONOUN takes the place of a noun; he, who, I, what, etc. A VERB expresses action or being; scrambled, was, should win, etc. An ADJECTIVE describes a noun/pronoun; messy, strange, alien, etc. ADVERB describes a verb, adjective, or other adverb; willingly, woefully, very, etc. PREPOSITION relates a noun/pronoun to another word in the sentence; by, for, from, etc. CONJUNCTION ties two words or groups of words together; and, after, although, etc. INTERJECTION expresses strong emotion; yikes!, wow!, ouch!, etc.
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* Parts of a sentence: VERB: Also called predicate, expresses the action/state of being. SUBJECT: The person/thing being talked about. COMPLEMENT: Word/group of words that completes the meaning of the subject-verb pair. TYPES OF COMPLIMENTS: Direct/indirect objects, subject compliment, objective complement.
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* Pronouns Tips: Pronouns that may be used only as subjects or subject complements; I, She, We, They, Who, Whoever. Pronouns that may be used only as objects or objective compliments; Me, Him, Her, Us, Them, Whom, Whomever. Common pronouns that me be used as either subjects or objects; You, It, Everyone, Anyone, No One, Someone, Mine, Ours, Yours, Theirs, Either, Neither, Each, Everybody, Anybody, Nobody, Somebody, Everything, Anything, Nothing, Something, Any, None, Some, Which, What, That. Pronouns that show possession; My, Mine, Your, Yours, His, Her, Hers, Its, Our, Ours, Their, Theirs, Whose.
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* Subject-Verb Agreement Tips: Match singular subjects with singular verbs, plural subjects with plural verbs. Amounts of time/money are usually singular; (ten dollars is). Either/or and neither/nor: Match the verb to the closest subject (Neither the boys nor the girl is). Either/Neither, without their partners or/nor, always take a singular verb (either of the apples is). All subjects preceded by each and every take a singular verb. Both, few, several, many are always plural.
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* Punctuation Tips: ENDMARKS: All sentences need an endmark: a period, question mark, exclamation point, or ellipsis. Never put two endmarks at the end of the same sentence. APOSTROPHES: For singular ownership generally add 's; for plural ownership generally add s'. COMMAS: In direct address use commas to separate the name from the rest of the sentence. In lists place commas between items in a list, but not before the first item. Before conjunctions, when combining two complete sentences with a conjunction, place a comma before the conjunction. If you have one subject and two verbs, don't put a comma before the conjunction.
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* Verb Tense Tips: SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE: Tells what is happening now. SIMPLE PAST TENSE: Tells what happened before now. SIMPLE FUTURE: Talks about what has not happened yet. PRESENT PERFECT TENSE: Expresses an action or state of being in the present that has come connection with the past. PAST PERFECT TENSE: Places an event before another event in the past. FUTURE PERFECT TENSE: Talks about something that has not happened yet in relation to another event in the future.
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Grammar Notes
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* “A” or “An”?
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Sources Used: Wikipedia. Google Define. The fabulous book, “English Grammar for Dummies, by Geraldine Woods”.
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Discussion