Grammar Basics: Sentence Structure and Parts of Speech

1. Grammar Basics: Sentence Structure and Parts of Speech

2. Parts of Speech 1. Verb: action (examine, illustrate, argue) Example: The author evaluates interview techniques. 2. Noun: person, place or thing (theory, child, agency, author) Example: The author evaluates interview techniques. 3. Pronoun: replaces a noun (he, she, you, I some) Example: He evaluates the interview techniques.

3. Parts of Speech 4. Adjective: describes a noun (useful, good, interesting) Example: The study is interesting. This interesting study helped me write my paper. 5. Adverb: describes a verb (well, badly, very really, slowly) Example: The interesting study was badly cited.

4. Parts of Speech 6. Conjunction: joins clauses or sentences (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet) Example: I wanted to eat dessert, but I was too full. 7. Preposition: links a noun to another word (in, on, to, by, etc.) Example: I waited for her, but she never came to the party.

5. Using semi-colons in lists • Use semi-colons to separate lists that are “together but separate.” Semi-colons are used to join items in a list that already contains one or more commas. • Example 1: The sandwich choices include tomato, bacon and lettuce; cheese, ham and lettuce; peanut butter and jelly. • Example 2: John Taylor is survived by his son, Jack, of California; his daughter, June, of Oregon; his grandchild, Jill, also of Oregon. • Semicolons: Punctuating joined clauses. Retrieved from http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/punc-semicolons.html

6. Comparisons Between Semi-Colons and Commas • Semi-colons: The sandwich choices include tomato, bacon and lettuce; cheese, ham and lettuce; peanut butter and jelly. • Commas: The sandwich choices were ham, cheese, lettuce and tomato. • Semi-colons: The shirts were red, white and blue; aqua, yellow and white; purple, yellow, black. • Commas: The flags were blue, aqua and purple. • Semi-colons: John Taylor is survived by his son, Jack, of California; his daughter, June, of Oregon; his grandchild, Jill, also of Oregon.

7. Using semi-colons to connect clauses • Use semicolons when the independent clauses are somehow related and need no coordinating conjunctions. • Example 1: He couldn't go home; he was too angry at his roommate. Alternative Approach: You can also use a comma and a coordinating conjunction. • Example 2: We are going to eat at the Italian place, and Jenny will meet us there. • Semicolons: Punctuating joined clauses. Retrieved from http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/punc-semicolons.html

8. Semi-colons versus colons Use colons to connect sentences that have a direct relationship. Example 1: After a sleepless night, the senator made her decision: she would not seek re-election. Example 2: Our mother had one rule: whenever you eat in her kitchen, wash your dish and put it away. Helpful hint: Notice that the first clause really only makes sense with the additional clause. Therefore, use semi-colons when the sentence only makes sense with the second clause. Use semi-colons when there is a relationship, but both sentences make sense on their own.

9. Usage Guidelines: Your and you’re • Your is a possessive pronoun, “your book” or “your car.” • You’re is a contraction for “you are.” • Example: Your book is at my house, and you’re going to have to come pick it up. • Example: You’re not following your own rule about cleaning up after yourself.

10. Usage Guidelines: Its or It’s • Its is a possessive pronoun, “its use” or “its problem.” • It’s is a contraction for “it is” or “it has.” • Example: Its use can be measured through a diagnostic test, but it’s not always accurate. • Example: It’s not perfect but the paint in the can basically matches its sample.

11. Usage Guidelines: There, They’re, or Their • There is a reference to a place, “let’s go there,” or a pronoun, “There is hope.” • Their is a possessive pronoun, “their opinions” or “their bags.” • They’re is a contraction for “they are.” “They’re going to Dearborn.” Example: There is no reason for their behavior except that they’re crazy.

12. Verb Tense • 1. Judy saved thirty dollars. (past) Often students drop the “ed,” but you must always include it if the action happened in the past. • 2. Judy will save thirty dollars. (future) • 3. Judy has saved thirty dollars. (present perfect) • 4. Judy had saved thirty dollars by the end of last month. (past perfect) • 5. Judy will have saved thirty dollars by the end of this month. (future perfect)

13. Keeping Consistent Verb Tense • General guideline: Do not shift from one tense to another if the time frame for each action or state is the same. • Incorrect: About noon the sky darkened, a breeze sprang up, and a low rumble announces the approaching storm. • Darkened and sprang up are past tense verbs; announces is present but should be past (announced) to maintain consistency within the time frame. • Corrected: About noon the sky darkened, a breeze sprang up, and a low rumble announced the approaching storm. • Verb tense consistency. Purdue OWL. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/601/04/

14. Keeping Consistent Verb Tense 2. Incorrect: Yesterday we walk to school but later rode the bus home. • Walk is present tense but should be past to maintain consistency within the time frame (yesterday); rode is past, referring to an action completed before the current time frame. • Corrected: Yesterday we walked to school but later rode the bus home.

15. Verb Tense • General guideline: Do shift tense to indicate a change in time frame from one action or state to another. • 1. The children love their new tree house, which they built themselves. • Love is present tense, referring to a current state (they still love it now;) built is past, referring to an action completed before the current time frame (they are not still building it.) • Verb tense consistency. Purdue OWL. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/601/04/

16. Verb Tense • 2. Workers are installing extra loudspeakers because the music in tonight's concert will need amplification. • Are installingrefers to an ongoing action in the current time frame (the workers are still installing, and have not finished;) will needis future, referring to action expected to begin after the current time frame (the concert will start in the future, and that's when it will need amplification.) • Verb tense consistency. Purdue OWL. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/601/04/

17. Verb Tense in Social Science Writing • General guideline: Establish a primary tense for the main discourse, and use occasional shifts to other tenses to indicate changes in time frame. • Use present tense to state facts, to refer to perpetual or habitual actions, and to discuss your own ideas or those expressed by an author in a particular work. • Rely on past tense to narrate events and to refer to an author or an author's ideas as historical entities. (This is appropriate when citing a theory that was founded at a specific, definite time in the past.) • Future action may be expressed in a variety of ways, including the use of will, shall, is going to, are about to, tomorrow and other adverbs of time, and a wide range of contextual cues.

18. When to use articles • Articles are the words “a, an and the” that accompany nouns. • The dog jumped in the car and brought a bone. • Nouns that don’t need articles • Proper nouns are specific people, places or things. This includes names of specific theories. • Incorrect: Cat needs to be feed. • Correct: Fluffy needs to be feed.

19. When to use articles • Plural Nouns can go without articles. You can say cats or you can say the cats. • Mass Nouns are nouns that are uncountable. These are often ideas like “information.” • You could say “I need information.” • Or, “I need the information.”

20. When in doubt use an article • Very often students will drop the article from the beginning of the sentence. • Incorrect: Location was a place where women could get job training. • Correct: The location was a place… • Incorrect: Interview gave me insight into the profession. • Correct: The interview gave me insight… • When to use articles before nouns. Grammar Girl. Retrieved from http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/articles-before-nouns.aspx

21. References • Grammar Girl. (2010). When to use articles before nouns. Grammar Girl. Retrieved from http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/articlesbeforenouns.aspx • Purdue Online Writing Lab. (2012). Verb tense consistency. Purdue OWL. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/601/04/ • Sevastopoulos, J. (2012). Semicolons: Punctuating joined clauses. Grammar-Quizzes.com. Retrieved from http://www.grammarquizzes.com/punc-semicolons.html