The Basics
It's always good to start with the basics. This will help everyone follow the terms used in the lessons.
Parts of Speech
First, keep in mind the parts of speech, which are nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and prepositions. These are the categories we will use throughout the lessons. Below are examples of each. Some of the parts have links to more information. You should also study the information in those links.
Nouns - the names of people, places, or things. Ex. George Washington, Fairfax, bottle
Pronouns - refer to nouns Ex. Tom is my best friend. He is intelligent. They are not studying.
Verbs - show action Ex. study, think, write, behave
Adjectives - modify nouns or pronouns. Ex. Lazy people sleep too much. The test is difficult. She is intelligent.
Adverbs - modify verbs and adjectives. Ex. I slowly walked up the hill. The trash is very stinky.
Prepositions - indicate placement Ex. The cat is behind the couch. The keys are on the table.
Nouns - the names of people, places, or things. Ex. George Washington, Fairfax, bottle
Pronouns - refer to nouns Ex. Tom is my best friend. He is intelligent. They are not studying.
Verbs - show action Ex. study, think, write, behave
Adjectives - modify nouns or pronouns. Ex. Lazy people sleep too much. The test is difficult. She is intelligent.
Adverbs - modify verbs and adjectives. Ex. I slowly walked up the hill. The trash is very stinky.
Prepositions - indicate placement Ex. The cat is behind the couch. The keys are on the table.
Sentence Strucure
Two terms you need to understand are clause and phrase.
Clauses
So, what is a clause? A clause is a subject and a verb. I sleep is a clause. Jiyun likes to go shopping is also a clause. In the first sentence the pronoun "I" is the subject, and in the second sentence the noun "Jiyun" is the subject.
Easy, right? Yes. These two clauses are called independent clauses. This means they do not need any additional information to be a complete thought.
There are also dependent clauses, such as When I get home or Because it was raining or that she bought. These are considered dependent because they require additional information to be a complete thought. Look at (1), (2), and (3).
1. When I get home, I will feed the dog.
2. I did not go outside because it was raining.
3. Jiyun does not like the dress that she bought.
You can see that the dependent clauses also have subjects and verbs. There are many types of dependent clauses, such as adverb clauses, noun clauses, and adjective clauses. We will look at those individually later in the course.
Phrases
We have looked at clauses, so what are phrases? Phrases do not have a main verb. They must be two or more words. Walking home or under the bed or since last night are examples of phrases. Also, modified nouns are called noun phrases like The red barn or The loud music.
We have looked at clauses, so what are phrases? Phrases do not have a main verb. They must be two or more words. Walking home or under the bed or since last night are examples of phrases. Also, modified nouns are called noun phrases like The red barn or The loud music.
Putting It Together
All right, let's put this information together to create different types of sentences. Sentence (4) starts with a noun phrase subject (The sad boy) a verb (walked) a phrase (with an umbrella) and a dependent clause (because it was raining).
4. The sad boy walked with an umbrella because it was raining.
Here is an important note: When dependent clauses come after an independent clause, we usually do not use a comma to separate the two. Notice in (4) there is no comma. However, in sentence (5) there is one.
5. Because it was raining, the sad boy walked with an umbrella.
Notice the comma after the dependent clause.
All right, let's put this information together to create different types of sentences. Sentence (4) starts with a noun phrase subject (The sad boy) a verb (walked) a phrase (with an umbrella) and a dependent clause (because it was raining).
4. The sad boy walked with an umbrella because it was raining.
Here is an important note: When dependent clauses come after an independent clause, we usually do not use a comma to separate the two. Notice in (4) there is no comma. However, in sentence (5) there is one.
5. Because it was raining, the sad boy walked with an umbrella.
Notice the comma after the dependent clause.
Paragraphs
It is very important to know how a to write a well-formed paragraph. You need a topic sentence and supporting sentences with a proper transitions. There is a link above to the page that discusses paragraphs. One of the ways to create strong paragraphs is through cohesion. Basically, cohesion means your supporting sentences have a logical flow to them. For instance, look at paragraph (6) below.
(6) My name is ZZZZZ, and I was born in a small town in North Carolina. My father was a lawyer and my mother was an elementary school teacher. My favorite pastime was playing video games, and I even entered some competitions. I did well in high school and achieved a 3.95 GPA. Now I am enrolled in my first year of college and am taking 15 credits, which is a lot. I still find time for gaming. I pretty much have to because my goal is to major in e-sports and perhaps become a well-known player and manager.
Notice how this paragraph starts with information about the past, then moves to the present, and ends with a goal for the future. This is considered time-based organization, and it is one way to create cohesion in a paragraph. In a different paragraph you might list examples or compare two or more subjects. What is vital is having a sensible flow to the content of the sentences. Paragraph (7) lacks cohesion.
(7). My name is ZZZZZ and I really want to be an e-sports major in college and maybe become a manager. I was born in a small town in North Carolina, and I did well in high school. I actually achieved a 3.95 GPA. I also played a lot of video games in my spare time. That's why I am majoring in e-sports in college now. My father was a lawyer and my mother was an elementary school teacher, so I really value education.
See how paragraph (7) is more difficult to read. The information is basically the same, but there is no logical flow to the information. It bounces from future to past to present to past to present. This is very confusing for a reader.
(6) My name is ZZZZZ, and I was born in a small town in North Carolina. My father was a lawyer and my mother was an elementary school teacher. My favorite pastime was playing video games, and I even entered some competitions. I did well in high school and achieved a 3.95 GPA. Now I am enrolled in my first year of college and am taking 15 credits, which is a lot. I still find time for gaming. I pretty much have to because my goal is to major in e-sports and perhaps become a well-known player and manager.
Notice how this paragraph starts with information about the past, then moves to the present, and ends with a goal for the future. This is considered time-based organization, and it is one way to create cohesion in a paragraph. In a different paragraph you might list examples or compare two or more subjects. What is vital is having a sensible flow to the content of the sentences. Paragraph (7) lacks cohesion.
(7). My name is ZZZZZ and I really want to be an e-sports major in college and maybe become a manager. I was born in a small town in North Carolina, and I did well in high school. I actually achieved a 3.95 GPA. I also played a lot of video games in my spare time. That's why I am majoring in e-sports in college now. My father was a lawyer and my mother was an elementary school teacher, so I really value education.
See how paragraph (7) is more difficult to read. The information is basically the same, but there is no logical flow to the information. It bounces from future to past to present to past to present. This is very confusing for a reader.