Get a Grip on

Get a Grip on Grammar

Presented by: Writing Services

A Service of the Extended Learning Center

What is Grammar?

• Traditionally, grammar is defined as a system of rules relating to the correct forms and relations of words.

Grammar: Just the Rules, Ma’am!

• Parts of Speech• Types of Sentences

• Understanding basic grammar is critical because it lays the foundation for effective writing. Once you master these two elements, you’re ready to use grammar as an effective vehicle of meaning.

Vehicle of Meaning

• Expresses Author’s Intent

• Expresses the Tone

• Provides Specific Information

• Creates Clarity

• Stimulates Interest

• Provides Variety

Parts of Speech

• Noun

• Pronoun

• Verb

• Adjective

• Adverb

• Preposition

• Conjunction

• Interjection

Noun and Pronoun

• NounName of a person, place, thing, or ideaJohn is waving.

• PronounUsed in place of a noun He is waving.

Verb

• Expresses action or a state of being

The carpenter is sawing the board.

Adjective and Adverb

• Adjective

• Describes or modifies a noun

or pronoun

• Adverb

• Modifies a verb, an adjective,

or another adverb

Adjective

• The funny clown is floating dangerously high above the ground.

Adverb

• The funny clown is floating dangerously high above the ground.

Preposition

• Shows the relationship between the object of the preposition and another word in the sentence

• He is running to the beach.

Conjunction

• Connects individual words or groups of words

• He is running to the beach

and is becoming tired.

Interjection

• Included in a sentence in order to communicate strong emotion or surprise

• Oh no! I am stuck.

Interjection

• Oh no! I am stuck.

• Punctuation is used to separate an interjection from the rest of the sentence.

Types of Sentences

In English, there are four types of

sentences:

• Simple

• Compound

• Complex

• Compound-complex.

Simple Sentence

• Simple sentences Contain a subject and a verbExpress a complete thought

Last summer was unusually hot.

Compound Sentence

• Compound sentences

Contain two or more main clauses

Last July was hot,main clause

but August was even hotter.main clause

Complex Sentence

• Complex sentencesContain one main (independent)

clause and a subordinate (dependent) clause

The rain finally stopped, main clause

although many had left the area.subordinate clause

Compound-Complex

• Compound-complex sentences Contain two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses

The temperature is hot; independent clause

the humidity is high independent clause

unless the wind changes direction.dependent clause

Sentence Purposes

Each type of sentence can serve one of four possible purposes. Those purposes are:

• Declarative--Make a statement “I came, I saw, I conquered.” --Julius Caesar

• Interrogative--Ask questions “How many roads must a man walk down

before you can call him a man?” --Bob Dylan

More Sentence Purposes

• Imperative--Issue commands or requests• “Do not go gentle into that good night.”

--Dylan Thomas

• Exclamatory--Make exclamations• “Then go to the moon--you selfish dreamer!”

--Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie

Grammar Influences the Reader’s Perceptions

• Word Choice

• Sentence Structure

• Tone

Intriguing Word Choices

• Increases reader interest

• Provides clarity

• Influences tone

Examples of CaptivatingWord Choices

“The apparition of these faces in the crowd;

Petals on a wet, black bough.”

-- Ezra Pound

“Shut up,” he lied. -- Damon Runyan

“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons…”

-- T.S. Eliot

Sentence Structure and Tone

Notice how three lions of American literature use structure and tone to enhance the reader’s experience. By creating their own personal style, they bring a flavor and vitality to their work which stamps it as both completely original and timeless.

Mark Twain

You don’t know about me, without you have read a book by the name of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but that ain’t no matter…

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Ernest Hemingway

The woman brought two glasses of beer and two felt pads. She put the felt pads and the beer glasses on the table and looked at the man and the girl. The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry.

“Hills Like White Elephants”

William Faulkner

He went on down the hill, toward the dark woods within which the liquid silver voices of the birds called unceasing-- the rapid and urgent beating of the urgent and quiring heart of the late spring night. He did not look back.

“Barn Burning”

Foundations of Perception

• Your Prior Knowledge

• Your Personal Experiences

• Your Cultural Beliefs and Experiences

• Your Societal Beliefs and Experiences

Elements of Effective Grammar

• Sentence variation

• Intriguing word choices that add flavor to your writing

• Use of the active voice

Sentence Variation

• Vary the sentence length

• Vary the beginnings of the sentence

• Vary the arrangement

• Vary the types of sentences

Results of Sentence Variation

• Increases interest

• Aids paragraph development

Active Voice

• Concise writing

• Direct writing

• Vigorous writing

Active Voice

Notice how two masters

of American literature use

the active voice in their

writing to make their writing

concise, direct, and full of energy.

Herman Melville

“Established in my new quarters, for a day or two I kept the door locked, and started at every footfall in the passages.”

“Bartleby, the Scrivener”

Edgar Allen Poe

“While I nodded nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, as of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.”

“The Raven”

Want More Information on Parts of Speech?

• Pronouns• Verbs• Adjectives

• Adverbs• Conjunctions• Prepositions

Visit www.montgomery-college.com/elc for more information on:

Want Additional Grammar Help?

• Visit the Writing Services in the Extended Learning Center of Montgomery College at 3200 College Park Dr. in Conroe, Texas

• Use CyberScrybe the tutorial on-line service at cyberscrybe@nhmccd.edu

• Call 936-273-7396