English Grammar is related to expressing words in their singular and plural forms. Grammar refers to a systematic set of rules of a language and the structure of a language, like its skeleton. It is important for language learners to understand the rules of grammar, because if you use or order words incorrectly, your sentences will not make sense.
Two Methods of Learning Grammar
By using language or by learning the rules one by one. Applying them. (Most people use both methods together.). Grammar tells us how to put a sentence together and the order a sentence should have. Different languages have different grammar. People have studied English grammar for a long time. Many of its rules have not changed for hundreds of years, but some rules are changing because the way people use English grammar is changing.
What is a Sentence?
A Sentence is a linguistic unit consisting of one or more words that are grammatically linked, and expresses a complete thought. It can include words grouped, meaningfully to express a statement, question, exclamation, request, and command or suggest
What are the Parts of Sentences?
Subject is a person, place, thing, or idea doing or being something.
Predicate describes the subject.
| Subject | Predicate |
|---|---|
| The lion | roared |
| He | writes well |
| She | enjoys going to the cinema |
| The girl in the blue dress | arrived late |
What is a Sentence Fragment?
Sentence fragment is not a complete sentence, never have independent clause, but instead are dependent clauses or phrase.
Fragment can masquerade real sentences because they begin with a capital letter and end with the period. It lacks the subject and the predicate even both the subject and the predicate.
Where to find the sentence fragments
Sentence Fragments usually appear before and after the independent clauses to which they belong.
- When we got in the car. We rolled down the windows.
“When we got in the car” are a sentence fragment and a dependent clause. It clearly belongs to the independent clause that follows it and should be rewritten like this:
- When we got in the car, we rolled down the windows.
- We rolled down the windows when we got in the car.
Types of Sentences by Purpose
Declarative Sentence states a fact or an argument and it ends in the period.
- There are ten million people at risk.
- I am no wine connoisseur, but I know what I like.
- Manila is the capital of Philippines.
Interrogative Sentence asks a question. It ends with the question mark (?).
- Where do you live?
- Can you find my umbrella?
Imperative Sentence is a command or a polite request. It ends with an exclamation mark (!) or it ends with a period. The subject is usually left out and is understood to be ‘you’.
- Please bring my umbrella.
- You clear the road at once!
Exclamatory Sentence expresses excitement, conveys a strong felling or sudden emotion. It ends with an exclamation mark (!).
- You’ve broken my umbrella!
- She is the thief!
- That is beautiful!
Four Basic Sentence Structures
1. Simple Sentence is a sentence with only one independent clause. It is referred to as ‘independent’ because, while it might be a part of command or complex sentence, it can also stand by itself as a complete sentence.
Simple Sentence has the most basic elements that make it sentence: a subject, a verb, and a complete thought.
- The struggle is eternal.
- Joy waited for the train.
- The train was late. (“the train”- subject, “was”-verb)
- Ann and Joyce took the bus. (“Ann and Joyce”- compound subject, “took”-verb)
What is a Compound Sentence?
Compound Sentence is a sentence that contains at least two independent clauses connected to one another with a coordinating conjunction.
Coordinating conjunction is easy to remember if you think the words “FAN BOYS”.
For
And
Not
But
Or
Yet
So
- Joy waited for the train, but the train was late.
- Ann and Joyce arrived at the bus station before noon, and they left on the bus Before I arrived.
- Ann and Joyce left on the bus before I arrived, so I did not see them at the bus Station.
What is a Complex Sentence?
Complex Sentence is a sentence that contains an independent clause and at least one or more dependent clause.
Dependent Clause is similar to an independent clause, or complete sentence, but it lacks one of the elements that would make it a complete sentence.
Dependent Clauses:
- Because Ann and Joyce arrived at the bus station before noon
- While she waited at the train station
- After they left on the bus
Dependent clauses such as those above cannot stand alone as a statement, but they can be added to an independent clause to form a complex sentence.
Dependent clauses begin with subordinating conjunction:
| After | although | as | because |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before | even though | if | since |
| Though | unless | until | when |
| Whenever | whereas | while | wherever |
Complex sentence are often more effective than compound sentence because a compound sentence indicates clearer and more specific relationship between the main parts of the sentence.
The word ‘before’, for instance, tells readers that one thing occurs before another.
The word ‘although’, conveys more complex relationship than a word such as ‘and’ conveys.
What is a Periodic Sentence?
Periodic Sentence is used to refer to a complex sentence beginning with a dependent clause and ending with an independent clause, in “While she waited at the train station, Joy realized that the train was late.”
Periodic sentences can be especially effective because the completed thought occurs at the end of it, so the first part of the sentence can be build up to the meaning that comes at the end.
What is a Compound-Complex Sentence?
Compound-Complex Sentence is a sentence with two or more independent clause and at least one dependent clause. It combines the compound and the complex sentence.
The “compound” part means that it has two or more complete sentences.
The “complex” part means that it has at least one incomplete sentence.
- His blue eyes were light, bright and sparkling behind half-mooned spectacles, and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice.
Master English Grammar
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Key Takeaways
- English grammar is a systematic set of rules and structures governing a language.
- Sentences consist of a subject and a predicate, expressing a complete thought.
- Sentence fragments fail to form complete thoughts and lack independent clauses.
- Sentences can be classified by purpose into declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory types.
- Sentences can be structured as simple, compound, complex, periodic, or compound-complex.
Quick Practice
Write your own compound sentence and complex sentence using subordinating conjunctions in the comments below!
FAQ
What is English grammar?
English grammar refers to a systematic set of rules and structures of the English language that tells us how to put a sentence together and the order it should have.
What are the four basic sentence structures?
The four basic sentence structures are simple sentences, compound sentences, complex sentences, and compound-complex sentences.
What is the difference between a subject and a predicate?
A subject is a person, place, thing, or idea doing or being something, while a predicate describes the subject.