Grammar Crash Course

Knowing grammar is effective for both writing a sentence and identifying errors. There are many
grammar style books referenced in formal writing: MLA Style, AP Style, Chicago Style. While each
one has its own set of rules and changes in communication necessitate grammatical adjustment,
basic sentence structure in formal writing remains essentially unchanged.

Parts of Speech
Verb: Action word, but it can also describe a state/condition (i.e. walk, have, be).
Noun: Person, place, thing or feeling that is either acting or being acted upon (i.e. John Doe,
sidewalk, time, love).
Pronoun: Stands in place of a noun or noun phrase (i.e. I, he, we, it, me, herself, one another,
anybody, who).
Adjective: Modifies a noun to provide more detail, such as specifying color, age, beauty, size and
quantity. Titles (i.e. Mrs., Dr., Sgt.) and determiners (i.e. the, a lot, my, only, both) are a subsets.
Adverb: Modifies a verb to provide more detail. Traditionally ends in -ly and typically answer the
questions how?, in what way?, when?, where? and to what extent? (i.e. obviously, quickly, shortly, well).
Preposition: Introduces a modifying phase that indicates a relationship or direction (i.e. with, on,
for, after, at, against, instead of, near, towards, through, over, according to).
Conjunction: Connects nouns, phrases or clauses. Coordinating (i.e. and, but, or), correlative (i.e.
either [or], not [only], but [also]) and subordinating (i.e. however, as much as) are all subsets.
Interjection: Also called an exclamation or filler phrase, indicates emotion without the assistance of
a noun and are followed by either an exclamation point of comma (i.e. sorry, um, hi, well, wow).
Interjections should be avoided in formal writing.

Parts of a Sentence
Subject: Initiates the action, causes the action or carries attributes. More than just a noun, a subject
can be a phrase (noun plus modifiers), a gerund (verb ending in -ing), infinitive (to plus verb), an
implied (you or it, often confused for a fragment) or an entire quotation.
Predicate: The action itself and all of its modifiers. More than just a verb, a predicate can include a
direct object, a preposition, an object compliment or adverbials.
Object: Receives the action and can be direct (the action is specifically being done to the object),
indirect (the object is receiving the action) or prepositional (the object is a prepositional phrase).
Modifier: Clarifies what is being done, how it is being done or who is doing it. Modifiers can be
either adjective (relating to a noun) or adverbial (relating to the verb).
Phrase: Grouping of words that act as a complex modifier. Phrases include noun phrases (noun
plus modifiers), verb phrases (verb plus modifiers), prepositional phrases (preposition plus
modifiers), appositives (follows the nous and set apart by commas) or absolutes (modifies the
entire sentence, both subject and predicate).
Clause: Grouping of words that have both a subject and predicate. Clauses can be dependent
(indicated by a subordinate conjunction), relative clause (indicated by which or what and are
always proceeded by a comma), content clause (indicated by that), interrogative clause (indicated
by question words). Independent clauses could stand alone as their own sentences and are linked
by coordinating conjunctions or hard punctuation (i.e. semicolon, colon, em dash).
Punctuation
Period . : Can either indicate the end of a sentence or an abbreviation. Use a single space after a
period.
Comma , : Used to separate and clarify clauses, phrases, conjunctions or lists.
Colon : : Indicates that the following proves, explains or provides detailed elements of what is
referred to before. Often used when indicating a definition, a consequence, a set, a cause and
action, direct speech, dialogue, scripture reference, time reference or a subtitle.
Semicolon ; : Connects two related ideas, often used in place of a period or conjunction but also as
with a listing where a comma is not a clear enough indicator. Semicolons are becoming an
antiquated form of a conjunction and should be used sparingly if at all.
Dash: Three types of dashes vary in length. Hyphen (-), or figure dash, joins words or separates
syllables. En dash (–) indicates a range or a connecting relationship. Em dash (—) indicates in
interruption, such as a parenthetical thought or sentence cut short.
Slash / : Used to emphasis a connecting relationship in place of an en dash.
Parenthesis ( ) : Indicates an interruption in the flow of a sentence. This is also becoming an
antiquated punctuation as em dashes or commas are more often used.
Quotation Mark “ ” : Sets apart a grouping of words that does not belong to the narrator. A period
should be placed inside the quotation mark when it is located at the end of a sentence.
Apostrophe ‘ ’ : Used to set apart a quotation within a quotation. Though most commonly used in
contractions, contractions should be avoided in formal writing.
Question Mark ? : Used instead of a period in cases of an interrogative. Because all questions
within formal writing are rhetorical (cannot be answered directly), interrogatives should be used
sparingly or not at all.
Exclamation Mark ! : Used instead of a period in cases of an exclamatory remark. Because word-
choice should carry the power in formal writing, exclamations should be used sparingly.
Symbols: All other symbols (i.e. $ % & *) should only be used with a specific purpose in mind, such
as indicating a footnote or citing the name of a company. When in doubt, spell out what the
symbol represents rather than using the symbol itself, including numbers less than 1,000,
fractions, dollar signs and percentages.

Conjugation
Infinitive: The root of the verb (i.e. walk, be)
I (walk, am) We (walk, are)
You (walk, are) You (walk, are)
He/She/It/One (walks, is) They (walk, are)

Tense
Simple Present Simple Past Simple Future
(I walk.) (I am.) (I walked.) (I was.) (I will walk.) (I will be.)
Present Continuous Past Continuous Future Continuous
(I am walking.) (I am being.) (I was walking.) (I was being.) (I will be walking.) (I will be being.)
Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect
(I have walked.) (I have been.) (I had walked.) (I had been.) (I will have walked.) (I will have been.)
Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous Future Perfect Continuous
(I have been walking.) (I had been walking.) (I will have been walking.)
(I have been being.) (I had been being.) (I will have been being.)
 Diagramming Sentences
Practice identifying the parts of speech by diagramming sentences. Being able to do this quickly and
correctly will make it easier for you to identify fragments, misused punctuation, subject/verb
agreement or misplaced modifiers. You can also do this with your own writing to increase clarity and
avoid simple mistakes.

Basic Structure

Basic Sentence Structure:

Modifiers:

Direct Object Clause:

Parallel Conjunctions (Independent Clause):

Implied You:

Appositive:

Interjection:
 Diagram This
Diagram the following sentences in the structures provided.

Students read books.

She is beautiful.

Those red balloons flew overhead.

I heard you were leaving.

The students read their assignment and brought their textbooks, so their
teacher was happy.

I laughed when he got stuck.

Give the man your wallet.

Wow! He is amazing!