#1: Definitions and Punctuation

This guide is starting with definitions (just to make sure we're talking about the same things) and punctuation because while most of us use the same symbols, we don't always use them the same way.

DEFINITIONS

1. noun - the name of a person, place, thing, or idea. A common noun refers to any person, place, thing, idea, etc. while a proper noun refers to a specific person, place, thing, idea, etc.


2. pronoun - a word that takes the place of a noun.


3. case - the form of a noun or pronoun which shows its relationship to the other words in a sentence. Nominative case is used for the subject of a sentence or clause. Possessive case shows who owns something. Objective case receives the action of a verb or preposition. These are the only three cases English has, and pronouns change form for each. Nouns only change for the possessive case. (That is why you add 's when you change the ball of John to John's ball.)


4. verb - the lifeblood of a sentence. :) It shows the action or state of being, and it also indicates the time of the action or being. Past, present, and future; even time travelers don't get more options than this.


5. adjective - a word that describes nouns and specify size, color, number, etc.


6. adverb - a word that describes verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. They specify in what manner, when, where and how much.


7. preposition - shows how a noun or pronoun is related to another word in a sentence. Combinations of verbs and prepositions usually have a different meaning from the verb alone.


8. conjunctions - join words, phrases, or clauses. Coordinating conjunctions connect sentence elements of equal value. Subordinating conjunctions join two clauses, the main one and the dependent one.


9. subject - part of the sentence that is the person, object, or idea being described. Every sentence must have a subject. Nouns, pronouns, or phrases used as nouns can all be used as subjects.


10. predicate - part of the sentence that is the explanation of the action, condition, or effect of the subject. Every sentence must have a predicate. Verbs and all the words used to explain the action or condition make up the predicate.


11. phrase - a group of words that are closely related but have no subject or predicate. Phrases may be used as nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs.


12. clause - a group of words which has a subject and a predicate. A main clause can stand alone as a sentence. A subordinate clause is incomplete and is used with a main clause to express a related idea.

This is as basic as it gets. All other grammar terminology is just fine-tuning these twelve concepts.

PUNCTUATION

Punctuation is very important. Without it, words would just be strung together and lack meaning. Speech has inflections and pauses that give words meaning. All punctuation does is to give the reader the guide to translate the written word to speech. Now for the symbols and where to use them.

1. period (.) - goes at the end of a sentence. It is also used in abbreviations for a single word (except in the exceptions like FBI).


2. comma (,) - used to separate words and phrases. What is separated:
   
   
   1. clauses of a sentence with and between them
   
   
   2. a series of things or actions
   
   
   3. names of people you're talking to
   
   
   4. dialogue from its tag line before or after the quotation
   
   
   5. an introductory phrase if a pause is intended
   
   
   6. an aside
   
   
   7. which clauses.


3. semicolon (;) - used to separate clauses when there is no and in between. Also it is used to separate items in a series when there is a comma in one or more of the items.


4. colon (:) - used to present something: a statement, a series, a quotation, or instructions. It is a full stop like a period. When you use a colon to introduce a list, make sure what comes before the colon could be a small sentence.


5. question mark (?) - used to show that the sentence is a question or to express skepticism or surprise.


6. exclamation point (!) - used to express surprise, shock, anger. Use it only when necessary and only use one.


7. parentheses () - used to separate asides from the rest of the sentence or between sentences.


8. dash (--) - used to insert another though or aside into a sentence. The dash is longer than a hyphen, so if your keyboard doesn't have a dash key type two hyphens (--).


9. hyphen (-) - connects individual words or parts of words. For fiction writing, it is usually used in terms from family members (mother-in-law) or two-word descriptions (quasi-official) or in fractions (two-thirds).


10. apostrophe (') - added with an s to singular or plural nouns that do not end in s to show ownership. Add the apostrophe alone to a plural noun that ends in s. 's is also used to make plurals of letters and numbers, including abbreviations. And the apostrophe is used when forming a contraction.


11. quotation marks (" ") - used to separate quotations from the rest of the sentence that wasn't said out loud. When one quotation appears within another, use single quotation marks (' ') to enclose the interior one.

RECOMMENDED READING

No one can remember all of the rules. Who would want to when you've got so much other stuff to remember. So here are the books I'm referencing in these English Grammar tutorials and I recommend keeping on your bookshelf to go back to when you're unsure of what to do.

Woe Is I by Patricia T. O'Conner. 1996, G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York. ISBN 0-399-14196-0
This is a very witty book. And O'Conner writes the grammar rules in plain English. That is a bonus for anyone who kept falling asleep in English class.

The Elements of Grammar by Margaret Shertzer. 1986, Macmillan Publishing Co., New York. ISBN 0-02-015440-2
Drier than Woe Is I, but Shertzer covers every possible exception to the rules and just about every conceivable usage as well.