A Guide to Grammar
A person who uses proper grammar knows the parts of speech and uses them in the correct way. Proper grammar contributes to a reader's understanding of a piece of writing. There are many common grammar mistakes that people make. One common grammar error involves the use of the words 'effect' and 'affect.' These words have a similar sound, but different spellings and meanings. The word effect means a result and the word affect means influence. If the wrong word is used it can completely change the meaning of a sentence and confuse the reader. Correct usage of the word effect: 'What is the effect of the medicine?' Correct usage of the word affect: 'What affect does today's weather have on your plans?' Another common grammar error involves the words 'lie' and 'lay'. Many people use these words interchangeably, but they have different meanings. The word lie means to recline. The word lay means to put down an object. An example sentence: 'I will lay my book on the table.' Lay is the verb and book is the object in the sentence. Example: 'He went to lie down on the sofa.' He is reclining on the sofa. The following outlines some basic parts of speech and offers examples of how to use them in the correct way.
Adjective-An adjective describes a noun or pronoun. Normally, an adjective comes just before a noun in a sentence. Example: 'The small, black cat crept across the dark street.' The adjectives small and black describe the cat and the adjective dark describes the street.
Adverb-An adverb modifies an adjective, a verb or even another adverb. In a sentence, an adverb is meant to answer the question of how, how much, where, or when. A helpful tip is to look for a word with an 'ly' ending. Example: 'The principal listened patiently to the student's side of the story.' The adverb patiently answers the question of 'how' the principal waited.
Clause-A clause is a group of words that has a subject and a predicate.
Conjunction-A conjunction connects words or phrases in a sentence. Example: 'I went to the store and to the library.' The conjunction in this sentence is the word and because it connects the parts of the sentence together.
Direct Object-The direct object relates to the verb in a sentence. A person can determine the direct object of a sentence by placing the word next to the verb. Does it answer the question 'whom' or 'what'? Example: 'The basketball player throws the ball.' The verb in the sentence is 'throws.' Ball is the direct object of the sentence because it answers the question of 'what' was thrown. A direct object will be either a noun or a pronoun.
Indirect Object-The indirect object relates to the verb as well as the direct object in a sentence. The indirect object answers one of these questions. For whom? For what? To whom? To what? Example: 'The student gave her teacher a flower.' The indirect object of the sentence is teacher. Teacher is the answer to the question: To whom?
Noun-A noun is a person, place, thing or idea. Example: The dog ran across the street. The words dog and street are the two nouns in this sentence. They are both things. There are also proper nouns. A proper noun is the name of a specific place, person or thing. Example: 'Cindy is walking to school.' Cindy is the proper noun in the sentence.
Predicate-The predicate is the portion of a sentence that contains the verb and conveys information about the subject. Example: 'After the play, he bought dinner for his date.' The predicate of this sentence is '...bought dinner for his date.' This portion contains the verb bought and explains what the subject (he) did.
Prepositional Phrase-A prepositional phrase contains a preposition and a noun. Example: 'I am going to stay at home tonight.' The prepositional phrase of this sentence is 'at home.' At is the preposition and home is the noun. Example: 'The letter is from Susannah.' The prepositional phrase in this sentence is from Susannah. From is the preposition and Susannah is the (proper) noun.
Pronoun-A pronoun replaces a noun in a sentence. Example: 'Susan drove her car to the store.' The pronoun her refers to the subject of the sentence, Susan. Without a pronoun the sentence would be awkward. 'Susan drove Susan's car to the store.'
Tense-Tense refers to time namely the present, past, and future. Example: 'I walked to school today.' The verb walked is in the past tense. Example: 'I am swimming in my pool.' The verb swimming is in the present tense.
Verb-A verb expresses an action taken by the subject of the sentence. Example: 'A bird flies through the air.' The word 'flies' is the verb of the sentence. It describes the action that the subject (the bird) is taking.
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