Grandma's Visits: Basic Grammar in Standard English
The basic grammar of English, with notes on style:
A. What is a sentence? Subject, verb, object.
1. Find the verb.
2. Then find the subject.
3. Is there an object?
B. Transitive v. intransitive verbs
Transitive verbs require a direct object: they TRANSMIT action to an object. Fernando ATE the flower.
Intransitive verbs have no direct object: the action of the verb belongs to the subject. If I do not EAT, I will DIE.
Remember "Lie v. Lay"? Lie is intransitive: I laid the book on the bed, and then I lay down next to it.
C. Active voice v. Passive voice
Active voice rocks. Passive voice is used to hide who is doing action. Use active voice when you can!
Here's an example of the immoral use of the passive voice.
And this wonderful article shows how people use passive voice (and other tricks) to obscure responsibility for cruel actions.
D. Pronoun case: subject v. object v. possessive
1st person 2nd person 3rd person
Subjective I, we you she, he, it, they
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Objective me, us you her, him, it, them
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Possessive my, our your, her, his, its, their
mine, ours yours hers, theirs
E. Phrase, clause, complete sentence.
Each of these is a group of words.
A complete sentence stands alone, expressing an idea, with subject and predicate.
A clause has subject and predicate, but is part of a larger sentence. An "independent" or "main" clause could be a complete sentence on its own. A "dependent" or "subordinate" clause relies on its connection to an independent clause to make a complete sentence.
A phrase is a group of words that lacks either subject or predicate or both... used to describe or specify something within a clause. There are many kinds of phrases: noun phrases, verb phrases, prepositional phrases...
F. Coordinating conjunctions connect independent clauses. There are only seven:
For And Nor But Or Yet So
G. Subordinating conjuctions indicate time, place, or cause/effect relationships between clauses. There are many... among them:
Time Place Cause/Effect
after where if
once wherever because
until though
while although
before so that
whenever unless
when
This is a main clause, because this is a subordinate clause.
H. Relative pronouns are pronouns which subordinate one clause to another: who, whose, which, that
This is a main clause, which makes this a subordinate clause.
I. Types of sentences: Simple, compound, complex, compound complex.
This is a simple sentence.
A compound sentence has two clauses, and they are connected by a coordinating conjunction.
If a sentence has a subordinate clause, it is complex.
Compound-complex sentences have both subordinating and coordinating conjunctions between clauses, and although they might be long, they are grammatically correct.
J. Sentence combining
Use these principles to create the language rhythms that are appropriate to your ideas... think about coordination and subordination. Is your idea simple? Make a simple sentence. Is your idea complex? In such a case, you may need to get more deeply into a sentence to explore the implications of an idea, especially when it requires special explication or analysis, so that you fully clarify your point. (that one was compound/complex).
K. Sentence variety:
“This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals–sounds that say listen to this, it is important.”
― Gary Provost
Here's a great list of long sentences, just for fun.