Conventions
of Standard Written English.
By Ray Gen
The following is a brief
grammar. If you are particularly
weak in some area you MUST consult a full grammar to correct your deficiency.
Parts of Speech.
The
eight parts of speech are nouns,
pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and
interjections.
Nouns and Pronouns.
Nouns
are words which name people, places, things, and concepts. Pronouns are words which are used instead of
nouns (I, you, he, she, it). Nouns,
pronouns, and relative pronouns have four uses in a sentence. Thus they are said to operate in four cases.
The cases determine their use in the sentence. The nominative case
functions as the subject of the sentence (also predicate nominative). The genitive
case is used to indicate possession (there are many other uses but for the sake
of simplicity we will say possession).
The dative case is used to
indicate the indirect object (again there are many uses). And the accusative
case is used to indicate the direct object.
Since English has lost most of its inflections, word order now chiefly
determines function in sentences. For
example consider the name Andrew in the following:
Andrew threw the ball. -
nominative case
Andrew’s ball was lost. -
genitive case
I
threw Andrew the ball. -
dative case
The
ball hit Andrew. - accusative case
Except for the genitive case the word Andrew does not
change. The word order primarily
determines its function in the sentence.
However, consider the third person pronouns and observe how they change
according to function.
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masculine he his him him they their them them |
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feminine she her her her they
their them them |
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neuter it its it it they their them
them |
The pronouns still retain their function as represented
by their form. For example, if one were
to encounter this poorly written sentence it would still be discernible because
of the case of the pronouns: “ them
loved very much I.”
Other pronouns:
First person pronoun:
I, my/mine, me, we, our/ours, us
Second person pronoun:
you, your/yours, you (for both singular and plural)
Relative pronouns introduce subordinate clauses: who,
whom, whose, which, that.
Interrogative pronouns introduce questions: who? whom? whose? which? what?
Demonstrative pronouns point out: this, that, these, those
Adjectives.
Adjectives
are words which modify nouns and pronouns.
They take on the same case and number as the words they modify. Adjectives tend to provide information such
as "what kind?" (wrinkled
dogs, blue sky, happy mother) "how many?" (three French hens) and "which one?" (those books).
Adverbs.
Adverbs
modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
Adverbs provide information such as
how, when, where, and to what
extent.
Examples of verb modification: He snored loudly. We’ll go tonight. They will talk constantly. The dog barked outside.
Examples of adjectival modification: We saw a very
good football game. The team heroically fought off the advances of
the opponents.
Examples of adverbial modification: We saw a very,
very good game. The game went by too quickly.
Verbs.
Verbs
are words which portray actions (action verbs) or express statements (equative
verbs). Action Verbs function according
to tense, voice, mood, person, and number.
Tense
past I
wrote.
past perfect I
had written.
present I
write.
present perfect I
have written.
future I
will write.
future perfect I
will have written.
Voice
active (the subject is the performer of the action) I love you.
passive (the subject is the receiver of action) I am loved by you.
Mood
indicative (simple statement or simple question) I love
you. Do you love me?
imperative (commands, prohibitions, demands) You must love me! Do not love another!
subjunctive (expresses wishes or hypotheticals) If only you loved me. I would be happy.
Person (first, second or third) & Number (singular or plural)
first
person singular I love you. 1st plural
We love you
second
person singular You love me 2nd plural You love me
third
person singular Andrew loves
me. 3rd plural They love me.
Infinitives.
Infinitives are the so-called “dictionary” form of the
word. When used in sentences
infinitives are verbal-nouns, verbal adjectives, or verbal adverbs. Infinitives are usually preceded by the word
“to.”
verbal noun To ski is fun and relaxing. (subject)
verbal adjective That
mountain is the best one to ski. (modifies one/mountain)
verbal adverb That
slope was difficult to ski. (modifies difficult)
Participles
and Gerunds.
Participles are verbal adjectives. Gerunds are verbal nouns. The present participle and the gerund both
end with “-ing”. One can differentiate a gerund from a
present participle by function only.
Gerund examples:
Writing is a good exercise for the
mind. (subject)
Andrew
enjoys writing. (object)
Present participle examples:
The dancing bear was the main attraction at
the zoo. (modifies bear - adjectival)
While cleaning his patio, David slipped and
fell. (states when - adverbial)
The dying were desperately clinging to
life. (subject)
Past participle examples:
The sweetened tea was delicious. (modifies tea - adjectival)
Killed by mistake, the doe was left as
carrion. (circumstantial - adverbial)
The damned had lost all hope. (subject)
Prepositions.
Prepositions
show the relationship of a noun or pronoun to another word in the
sentence. Some samples of prepositions
are in, on, above, under, beneath, into,
of, to, toward, with, within, beside, around, at, before, until, off, etc. Compound prepositions include according to, because of, in back of, etc.
Conjunctions.
Conjunctions connect
words, phrases, clauses and sentences.
Coordinating conjunctions connect items of equal grammatical value. Correlative conjunctions connect items which
come in pairs. Subordinating
conjunctions connect items of unequal grammatical value. Coordinating conjunctions are and, but, yet, or, nor, so and sometimes
for.
Correlative conjunctions are either...or;
neither...nor; both...and; not
only...but also. Subordinating
conjunctions include because, as, so
that, since, when, where, while, after, as soon as, than, though, etc.
Interjections.
Interjections
are exclamatory words which usually stand alone grammatically such as: Wow!
Really! Ouch! Oh!
Interjections at times introduce the sentence, for example, “Oh, that was a surprise.”
Sentence Structure
Sentences have subjects and the have predicates. The subject is the performer of the action when “action” or verbs
are used in the active voice. (e.g. The car sped along the road.) The subject is the receiver of the action
when verbs are used in the passive voice.
(e.g. The car was hit by a train.)
Predicates are composed of verbs and objects (if any). Transitive
verbs are verbs which direct action toward an object. (e.g.
The car hit a tree.) Intransitive verbs are verbs which have
no objects in the sentence. (e.g. The
car kept going.)
Linking verbs are verbs which “link” or
connect words. Linking verbs are not
action verbs. Linking verbs are
equative verbs. Linking verbs link the
subject to the predicate and establish a relationship. Some linking verbs include forms of the verb
“to be,”
become, seem, appear, look) For example: She is happy. (she = happy)
Punctuation.
The
use of punctuation is to enhance clarity.
Punctuation is not merely a formality.
It should insure clear communications.
Endmarks.
There
are three endmarks: the period, question mark, and exclamation mark . The period
(.) ends simple statements. Question marks (?) end interrogative
sentences. Exclamation marks (!) end imperative and exclamatory sentences.
Commas.
The most misused punctuation mark is the comma. The old adage “use a comma whenever you
pause” is WRONG. Use a comma:
1. To separate
items in a series: “Ron, Susan,
Joanne, and Ray are happy.” (The comma
after Joanne is optional - the comma before the “and”.)
2. To join
independent sentences before a coordinating conjunction: “I am depressed, but help is coming.”
3. After
introducing complex or lengthy introductory clauses: “After catching our runaway dog who had wandered for miles, we
rested at home.”
4. To separate
two or more adjectives: “The dark,
lonesome night was long.”
5. After an
interjection which part of the sentence:
“Oops, I had forgotten.”
6. After
appositives (not always): “Our Senator,
the Honorable Ms. Boxer is brilliant.”
Commas do not separate “restrictive appositives,” that
is, appositive which have a close relation to the word: “Our teacher, Mr. Vincent is brilliant.”
7. To set off
parenthetical portions of the sentence:
“The government, I hope, will learn this lesson in history.”
8. After the
use of a vocative noun: “Ron, would you
make some coffee?”
9. In certain
mechanical conventions:
Sacramento,
CA
Monday,
September 4, 1995, is a holiday.
Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Carl
Sagan, Ph.D.
Semicolons.
Semicolons are quite simple to use although most people
do not use the semicolon because they do not know how to use them. There are a just few rules to follow. Use a semicolon:
1. When a
coordinating conjunction is omitted to join independent clauses: “I am hungry; I’ll get something to eat.”
2. To avoid
confusion by separating independent clauses when there are a number of commas
present in the sentence: “I went to the
store and purchased bananas, peaches, plums, and oranges; since I was hungry.
3. Before words
such as however, nevertheless,
futhermore, therefore, moreover, etc. when joining independent clauses (a comma must follow these
words): “I came home with much fruit;
however, I did not have time to eat them.”
4. To separate
items which already have commas: “Ron
visited Columbus, Ohio; Tampa, Florida; San Francisco, California; and Nome,
Alaska.”
Colons.
1. Colons
should be use to introduce items on a list:
“Each teacher should be prepared with the following attributes: courage, dedication, tolerance, and
fortitude.” (Do not use a colon if a
series follows a verb or preposition.)
2. Colons can
be used to introduce long quotations:
“President Lincoln said: Four
score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new
nation...”
Apostrophes.
1. Use an
apostrophe to indicate possession:
Singular Plural
captain’s
log captains’
logs
berry’s
color berries’
colors
ox’s
head oxen’s
heads
woman’s
hari women’s
hair
2. Use an
apostrophe to indicate a contraction:
can’t, won’t, they’re, you’re.
Hyphens.
1. Use hypens
to divide words at syllable breaks at the end of a line and to be continued on
the next line:
...when
any form of government be-
comes
destructive of these things it is
the
right of the people to alter or abo-
lish
it...
2. Use hyphen
when writing compound numbers and fractions:
thirty-two, three-fourths.
Dashes.
Dashes are used to delineate an interuption of
thought: “The party - it was a dress up
affair - was fabulous.”
Modifying
Phrases.
A phrase is a group of
words which are not complete sentences.
They lack an essential part of the subject-predicate relationship. Phrases modify a part of speech.
Prepositional
phrase: “I am going to the store.” “She was called before the judge.”
Adjectival
phrases: “I see a green parrot.” The homes near the ocean are lovely.
Adverbial phrases: “I went slowly down to the
river.”
Participial phrases:
Present Participles:
The dancing bear was the main attraction at
the zoo. (modifies bear - adjectival)
While cleaning his patio, David slipped and
fell. (states when - adverbial)
The dying were desperately clinging to
life. (subject)
Past participles:
The sweetened tea was delicious. (modifies tea - adjectival)
Killed by mistake, the doe was left as
carrion. (circumstantial - adverbial)
The damned had lost all hope. (subject)
Gerund phrases:
Writing is a
good exercise for the mind. (subject)
Andrew
enjoys writing. (object)
Infinitive phrases:
verbal noun To ski is fun and relaxing. (subject)
verbal adjective That
mountain is the best one to ski. (modifies one/mountain)
Appositive
phrases: (appositives rename the noun)
Carmel,
a lovely town near the ocean, is a
prosperous community.
An intelligent and witty person, Betty
will do just fine.
Coordinating
and Subordinating Clauses.
A
clause is a complete thought and could be written to be a complete
sentence. Clauses have both subjects
and predicates, whereas phrases do not.
Coordinating clauses are
also known as independent or main clauses.
They can stand by themselves (independent) or be joined with other
clauses. “The rain was pleasant, but the sunshine was welcomed.” These two independent clauses were joined
with a coordinating conjunction. Each
clause could be written to stand alone.
“The rain was pleasant” and “The sunshine was welcomed.”
Subordinating clauses are
“dependent” clauses. They rely upon
another clause in order to be grammatically viable. However, they can be easily rewritten to stand alone. (Traditional grammars have stated that
subordinating clauses do not express complete thoughts. This is not true. Like the independent clause, dependent clauses also have subjects
and predicates. Subordinating clauses
are subordinate only because they cannot stand alone grammatically.) “The politician, who is pacing back and forth, is awaiting the results of the
election.” “The politician is nervous because his future will be decided by the
election.” In the previous two
sentences, the italicized parts are the subordinating clauses. They cannot stand alone; however, if the
“who” in “who is pacing back and forth” is
replaced with its antecedent, it can stand independently. Similarly, if the “because” in “because his future will be decided by the
election” is removed, it can stand independently.
Types of Subordinating Clauses
Adjectival
clauses:
“The ocean breeze, which
brings temperate weather, is welcomed.” Relative pronouns (who, whom, whose, that, and which)
introduce adjectival clauses which are also known as relative clauses.
Adverbial clauses:
“After we swam in
the ocean, we washed the brine from our hair.
Noun clauses:
How
to gather a source of income is the only concern of these
people. (subject)
Our hope for the lost deer is that he will go home. (object)
Four
Types of Sentence Structure.
(1) A simple sentence is a sentence that has
only one independent clause. “English
is a class at school.”
(2) A compound sentence is a sentence that has
more than one independent clause.
“English is taught at school, but it isn’t the only subject taught
there.”
(3) A complex sentence has an independent
clause and at least one subordinating clause.
“English is taught at every school which is accredited in the United
States.”
(4) A
compound-complex sentence has at least two independent clauses and at least one
subordinating clause. “English, which
is a demanding subject, is taught in the morning, but it is also offered at
night.