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Grammar

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Grammar

  • = is from the Greek "art of letters" (words)

Article purpose

  • this article focuses on sentences and sentence parts, including:
    • sentence definition
    • clauses & phrases
    • types of nouns, verbs, adjectives and modifiers & their use in a sentence

Note: "punctuation" and "parts of speech" are sub-categories of "grammar"

Other related categories:

Note on abbreviations

  • IC = "independent clause"
  • DC = "dependent clause"
  • SV = "subject + verb"
  • SVO = "subject + verb + object"
  • CB = College Board


Sentence

  • a complete and grammatically correct thought that contains at a minimum a subject (or an implied subject) and a verb or predicate
    • i.e., "I shop." = a complete sentence and thought.
    • "Go!" = the subject, usually, "you" is implied
      • this form of a command is called an "imperative" or "exclamatory" sentence.
  • sentence complexity is created around the core Subject Verb Object/Predicate by adding:
    • clauses
    • modifiers
    • phrases
    • prepositions, etc.

Constituents

  • constituent = a word or words that creates a unique grammatical unit in a sentence
    • word origin:
      • con- = with
      • stitu = from PIE -sta and Latin statuare for "to stand"
      • -ent = having the condition of (the suffix indicates a noun)
  • constituent parts of a sentence are those that we can consider coherent elements or groupings within a sentence
    • constituent parts operates as an heirarchy
      • i.e,. "Sam and I" = noun phrase that is made up of a noun + a conjunction + a noun

Categories of sentence purposes

  • declarative sentence
    • makes a statement
    • most sentences are declarative in that they state something
  • exclamatory sentence
    • = a statement of urgency or emotion
      • also called an "exclamation"
    • ex. "That really hurt!"
  • interrogative sentence
    • = a question or a request
    • ex. "Is it raining?"
    • may include rhetorical questions, such as, "Why does it have to rain now?" which may also be considered declarative
  • imperative sentence
    • = a or command
      • ex., "Get to work!"
    • may also be an exclamatory statement
      • ex. "No!"

case

  • case = circumstance or situation
  • dictionary definition of "case"
    • Inflected forms of a noun, adjective or pronoun that express the semantic relation of the word to others in the sentence
  • in grammar, then, case is the "circumstance" of a word, how it is "situated" in a sentence
    • case indicates the form and relationship of certain words
    • case regards nouns, adjectives and verbs
    • "inflected" means changed or emphasized
    • word "inflections" are changes in a word according to chase
      • who v. whom, or I go v. he goes
      • the change at the end of the word, its stem, is an inflection

subjective v. objective case

  • subjective = a point of view, an opinion
  • objective = without opinion, a universal point of view

common errors of subjective v. objective case

  • "between you and I"= incorrect
    • "between" is a preposition, which uses the objective case of the noun
    • thus it should be, "between you and me"
  • "she told you and I to be quiet" = incorrect
    • "she" = subject, "you" = the object ("she told you" or "she told me")
  • "who do you love = incorrect and kinda correct
    • "who" is an object, so should be "whom"
    • however, common use of this expression has made "who do you love" an idiomatic expression

Subject

  • one of two parts of a sentence or a clause
    • subject + predicate (verb)
  • the subject is the "doer" of the
  • here we will look at the roles and forms of a subject in a sentence

subject complement

  • adds information to a subject following a linking verb (is, seems, sounds, etc.)
    • the word that follows the linking verb "complements" or "completes" the subect
      • "It was late"
      • "Gillian is a doctor"

subject phrase

  • the subject of a sentence may not logically be a single word
  • a "subject phrase" is two or more words that collectively act as the "doer" or subject of a sentence
    • ex. "The conditions are poor" is a complete sentence and thought, but lacks important details as to "conditions" of what?"
      • so a more complete "subject phrase" might be,
        • "The weather conditions are poor"
        • "The conditions of those teams are poor"
        • "Being smart helps on that test"

Object

  • the recipient of the actions
  • objects follow "transitive" verbs, which indicate an action that necessarily "acts" upon something
    • ex. "I hit the ball"
      • hit = transitive verb (requires an object)
      • ball = the recipient of the action

object complement

  • a word that modifies an object
  • object complements follow verbs that express both an object of an action and a recipient of that action
    • such as, appoint, call, create, declare, direct, elect, tell
      • The committee appointed her president
      • My mom declared the cookies out of bounds

>> to complete


Predicate

  • from Latin praedicatum for "something declared"
    • in logic, the "predicate" is the underlying claim or basis for a contention or proposition
  • there are several definitions of "predicate" in grammar
    1. the verb of a subject, also called a a "simple predicate"
    2. the verb of a subject and additional direct information about the subject
    3. everything in a complete sentence except the subject, also called a a "complete predicate"
  • generally, the predicate expresses the action of the subject and the result of that action

Verb

  • the subject is the "doer" of the
  • see Parts of Speech for list of sentence parts
  • here we will look at the roles and forms of a subject in a sentence

linking verb

  • "link" a subject to something about that subject that is not a direct action
  • linking verbs are:
    • "to be" and all of its "auxiliary verb" forms, am/is/are, was/were, has/have been, is/are being, might be, could, should, might, must
    • to become, to seem
  • ex.:
    • "Thank God it is Friday!"
    • "The kids are hungry"

Template:Clause (grammar)

Phrase

absolute phrase

  • modifies the main clause of a sentence
    • and not just a single word
  • contains a noun and an adjective
    • the adjective can be a prepositional phrase or a past or present participle adjective
  • absolute phrases add non-essential information to a sentence

adjective phrase

  • two or more words that act as an adjective
  • ex.
    • can also be compound words, such as "well-adjusted"
      • well-adjusted = an adjective made up of "well" (adverb) + "adjusted" (past participle)

adverb phrase or adverbial phrase

  • two or more words that operate as an adverb to modify an action
  • examples:
    • I'm staying until closing"
    • She'll be there in a minute*
      • * note that when a prepositional phrase acts as an adverb, it is technically an adverbial phrase
    • He ran very quickly

appositive phrase

>> to do

complement or requisite phrase

  • a word, phrase or clause that is necessary, or required, to complete an idea or sentence
    • complements are not separated from the main clause by punctuation

infinitive phrase

  • infinitives = "to" form of a verb
    • but that acts as a noun, adjective or adverb
      • ex. "I decided to go to the park"
        • "to go" is an infinitive phrase that acts as the direct object of the subject-verb "I decided"
        • i.e. it is the object of what "I decided"
        • "to the park" is prepositional phrase that acts like an adverb that describes "to go", as in "where [I decided] to go"
      • ex. "The teacher reminded the class to study for the test tomorrow"
        • "the class" is the object of "the teacher reminded" and "to study" is an adverb that describes the verb "reminded"
          • "to study" may also be seen as a "object complement" in that it serves as the object of "reminded the class"
  • note: sometimes the "to" is dropped although the verb is still an infinitive:
    • ex. "The waiter made me wait"
      • "wait" can be a noun, but here it is acting as an infinitive verb (the action "to wait")
  • see: Infinitives (owl.purdue.edu)

introductory phrase

  • introduces a main clause
  • generally followed by a comma to separate it from the main clause
  • types of introductory phrases
    • absolute phrase (Tools in hand, I went to work without reading the manual)
    • appositive phrase (Quite useful, the manual is a must-read)
    • infinitive phrase (To know how, you need to read the manual)
    • participial phrase (Not knowing how, I had to read the manual)
    • prepositional phrase (Inside the box, you will find the manual)

noun phrase

  • two or more words that together act as a noun
    • noun phrases may include modifiers or determiners
      • the little dog
      • my little dog
    • noun phrases may be the subject or object of a sentence:
      • "The little dog begged for a bone"
      • "I ordered the little dog to sit"
    • noun phrases are easy to see as they include a noun and together act like a noun
      • test out a noun phrase by replacing the phrase with a pronoun:
        • "The little dog begged for a bone"= "He begged for a bone"
        • "I ordered him to sit"
    • gerund phrases are more difficult to distinguish
      • especially as to if the gerund is acting as a noun or an adjective/adverb
  • gerund phrases are noun phrases:
    • a gerund phrase may include an object of the gerund, adjectives, infinitive or a prepositional phrase, ex.:
      • "Watching my boring professor drone on about grammar leaves me bored beyond crying"
        • the gerund "watching" is the subject
          • note that "crying" is gerund, as well
    • when the gerund phrase becomes descriptive, it becomes a participial or adjective phrase:
      • "Running with the ball, he scored!" = "running" describes "he", thus it is an adjective
        • if the present participle cannot be replaced by a distinct noun, then it is an adjective and not a gerund (noun)
          • we cannot say, "running with the ball scored" so "running" = a present participle adjective not a gerund
        • see also, "He scored running with the ball"
        • or, "He scored 12 points running with the ball"
          • in both cases the present participle acts as a modifier (adjective or adverb)
      • it's easier to see with this gerund phrase:
        • "The doctor said smoking is bad" = gerund phrase as direct object
  • see Gerund Phrase (gingersoftware.com)

participial phrase

  • a type of adjective phrase
  • uses the -ing or -ed form of a verb that acts as an adjective
    • note that the "-ing" form of a verb can also be a verb (participle) or a noun (gerund)
  • frequently serves as an introductory or concluding phrase that qualifies or adds meaning to the main clause
    • ex. "Thinking I was late, I rushed to work."
      • "thinking" = present participle of the verb "to think"
      • the present participle (-ing form) acts as an adjective
      • so the phrase, "Thinking I was late" is an adjective phrase (using a participial) that adds descriptive information to the main clause, "I rushed to work"
    • or can also follow the main clause, as in : "I rushed to work, thinking I was late"

prepositional phrase

  • introduced by a preposition, which creates a relationship to a noun or a verb
    • ex. of, by, for, on, etc.
  • prepositional phrases act as either adjectives or adverbs
    • i.e, they add information to or modify a noun or a verb
  • adjective ex:
    • "Books on sailing are fun to read"
      • "on sailing" describes the types of books that are "fun to read"
  • adverb ex.:
    • "Stephanie rode her bicycle to the store"
      • "to the store" = adverb to describe where Stephanie rode

verb phrase

  • two or more verbs that act as a single verb
    • = main verb + a helping or "auxiliary" verb
    • ex, "I couldn't have eaten any more cake if I tried"
      • "eat" = the main verb
      • "couldn't" and "have" = helping / auxiliary verbs
      • note: "if I tried" is an adverb clause (describes "could have eaten")
        • = a clause because it has a subject, "I" and a verb, "tried"
        • = a subordinate clause bc of the subordinating conjunction, "if", which makes the clause, "I tried" into an incomplete thought

Style & usage

periods

Grammar lesson plans

  • Understanding sentence cores & how to build out ideas into complex sentences
    • students are to write a series of three or four simple statements of fact.
      • such as,
        • I like dogs.
        • I have a dog.
        • My dog's name is Dudu.
        • Dudu is fun to play with.
      • students are then to combine these thoughts two at a time by employing sentence parts such as pronouns, conjunctions, and subordinating conjunctions, such as:
        • "Since I like dogs, I have one."
        • "My dog's name is Dudu, and she is fun to play with"
      • then combine those sentences/ ideas into a single, complex sentence:
          • Since I like dogs, I have one named Dudu who is fun to play with"
  • Language and the law:
  • Create courtroom scenario in which precision or imprecision in words, syntax, and grammar would change the outcome of the case

Conjunction

  • conjunctions combine or coordinate words and phrases (clauses)
  • see parts of speech
The 7 coordinating conjunctions
Alphab. list FANBOYS list
and F for
but A and
for N nor
or B but
nor O or
so Y yet
yet S so

coordinating conjunctions

  • = combine independent clauses (clauses that can stand as sentences on their own)

subordinating conjunctions

  • = conjunctions that "subordinate" or turn an independent clause into a subordinate clause, i.e., a sentence that cannot stand on its own
  • = create a need for additional information and sets up or adds to the information that follows in the dominant or main clause
    • ex.: "The dog played with his toy every day until it wore out" can be phrased using a subordinating conjunction, as per:
    • "Until it wore out, the dog played with his toy every day."
      • "Until it wore out" is not a complete sentence or thought
Subordinating conjunctions
after although as as if as long as
as much as as soon as as though because before
even even if even though if if only
if then if when inasmuch just as lest
now now that now when once provided
provided that rather than since so that supposing
than that though till unless
until when whenever where whereas
where if wherever whether which while
who whoever why

Introductory clauses & phrases

introductory clause

  • provides information or context to set up a dominant clause
  • = a dependent clause (does not stand as a complete sentence)
  • usually begin with a subordinating conjunction
    • ex. "If you want to do well on the test, use the study guide"

introductory phrase

Modifiers

  • modifiers change or add or "modify" the meaning of a word or sentence
  • modifiers provide or extent additional meaning to the reader
  • types of modifiers
    • adjectives
    • prepositions
      • prepositional phrases
    • adverbs
    • verbs as modifiers
      • participle phrase
  • other
    • adjective clause
    • infinitive phrase
    • adverbial clause
    • absolute phrase
    • Nouns as modifiers

intensifiers

  • enhance or strengthen the meaning of a word
    • (opposite of qualifiers which limit the meaning of a word)
  • intensifiers are adverbs (which modify verbs and adjectives), such as "he ran very fast" or "he was very late"
  • intensifiers can also act as adjectives in order to intensify an noun,
    • as in "a total lie"
  • types of intensifiers:
    • positive intensifiers:
      • very, extremely, absolutely, greatly, totally, highly, particularly, seriously, etc.
    • negative intensifiers:
      • never, at all, dangerously, never, etc.
    • intensifiers that can be both positive or negative:
      • awfully, completely

Sources for modifiers, qualifiers & intensifiers

qualifiers

  • qualifiers limit, or "qualify," the meaning of a word
  • types of qualifiers:

>> to do

modifier errors: dangling modifiers

  • a modifier that has no word or phrase to modify
    • i.e., it stands by itself, which is inherently illogical since a modifier must have something to modify
    • usually, dangling modifiers occur with participial phrases (using the -ing present participle) or prepositional phrases
    • dangling modifiers frequently mistake the target of the modification, such as modifying one thing, then discussing another
    • examples:
    • wrong: While playing around, it was late
      • correct: While playing around, I noticed it was late"
    • wrong: Driving to school, I forgot my homework
      • correct: Driving to school, I realized I forgot my homework

modifier errors: misplaced modifiers

  • a modifier that is next to or seemingly modifies the word or phrase
  • examples.
    • wrong: The student failed the test in the back of the class
      • correct: The student in the back of the class failed the test
    • wrong: The teacher gave a grade to the student that was really good
      • correct: The teacher gave a really good grade to the student

modifier errors: pre and post adverbs

  • modifier placement can change the meaning of a sentence:
  • example:
    • The student almost failed every test
    • v. The student failed almost every test
      • here the modifier "almost" is an adverb
    • The mechanic only works on trucks on Tuesdays
      • = on Tuesdays the mechanic works on trucks and nothing else
    • v. The mechanic works on trucks only on Tuesdays
      • = it is only on Tuesdays that the mechanic will work on trucks (but might also work on cars, as well)

Sentence diagramming

vocabulary & definitions

Attributive

Appositive

Clause

Colloquial

Denotation and Connotation

  • denotation = literal meaning of a word
  • connotation = associations wit words
    • generally positive or negative associations

Idiom/ Idiomatic

Phrase

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