This document provides explanations of some basic grammatical terminology used in writing. It begins with definitions of nouns and verbs, including the differences between count and mass nouns, transitive and intransitive verbs, and active and passive voice. It then discusses pronouns, noun and pronoun case, verb tenses and moods. Finally, it covers phrases, clauses, and types of subordinate clauses. The purpose is to give writers a better understanding of grammatical elements to improve technical writing skills.

1. SOME GRAMMAR EXPLANATIONS FOR WRITERS
JOHN SARR

2. PURPOSE
This is a presentation to explain some
grammatical terminology around the
basic elements of writing. We begin
with the building blocks of nouns and
verbs and work our way up to basic
sentence structure.
A better understanding of the function of
these elements can lead to better
technical writing skills.

3. NOUNS: DEFINE PERSON, PLACE, OR THING
 Common vs. Proper
 Count vs. Mass
 Count nouns are nouns that can be quantified or counted with a number. Examples:
boy, kitten, rose, gram, idea
Tests for Count Nouns:
 Count nouns can be quantified by a number.
 They have singular and plural forms.
 They can use a, an, or one as a modifier.
 They can use "many" as a modifier.
 Mass nouns are uncountable by a number. Mass nouns are quantified by a word that
signifies amount. Examples: bread, cotton, oxygen, rice, languages (English,
Spanish), gerunds (looking, listening)
To measure or classify mass nouns, use "of" after a measurement: a foot of wood, a
pound of rice, an ounce of courage, a bar of chocolate, a piece of music, a bag of
money
Tests for Mass Nouns:
 Mass nouns are quantified by an amount rather than a number.
 They have only a singular form.
 They cannot have "a," "an," or "one" before them as modifiers.
 They can use "much" as a modifier.

4. PRONOUNS: TAKE THE PLACE OF NOUNS
 Personal : Most commonly used pronouns.
Singular : I, me, you, he, him, she, her, it
Plural : we, us, you, they, them
Example: John baked a cake for Eileen = He baked it for her.
 Possessive : Personal pronouns that show ownership or possession.
Singular : my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its
Plural : our, ours, your, yours, their, theirs
Example: I found John's hat = I found his hat.
 Demonstrative : Pronouns that call attention to their antecedents.
Singular : this, that
Plural : these, those
Example: The yellow car is his = That is his car.
 Reflexive : Reflect the action back to the noun or pronoun that has just been named .
Singular : myself, yourself, himself, herself
Plural : ourselves, themselves, yourselves
Example: I will find it myself.
 Relative : Relate to a noun previously mentioned (=antecedent in a relative clause),
acting as the subject or object in the clause. Who, whom, that, which, whose.
 Example: Is that the dog that he owned and that bit you?

5. NOUN AND PRONOUN CASE
 Subjective Case: (or nominative) when the noun or pronoun is the subject of the
sentence or acts as a predicate noun. (A predicate noun follows a form of the "be"
verb, and it renames the subject of the sentence.)
I hope to finish my paper tonight. (I=pronoun subject)
Valerie danced in the statewide competition. (Valerie=proper noun subject)
He is a clown. (He=pronoun subject, clown=predicate noun)
 Objective Case: (or oblique) when the noun or pronoun is a direct object, an
indirect object (to), or an object of the preposition.
Dad prepared the dinner. (dinner=direct object)
Our dog crawled under the fence. (fence=object of a preposition)
Mom gave us the money. (us=indirect object, money=direct object)
Note: A rule in English for objects of verbs: If a verb has both a direct and indirect object, and the indirect object
immediately follows verb, delete ‘to’; if the indirect object does not immediately follow the verb, keep ‘to.’
Ex. : Mom gave us the money, but: Mom gave the money to us; Mom gave Valerie the money, Mom gave the money to
Valerie.
 Possessive Case (or genitive) : when the noun or pronoun shows ownership of an
object.
Mom washed Valerie's leotard.
Where did you find her book?

6. NOUN CASES:
Nominative Oblique Genitive
(Possessive
Adjective)
Possessive
Pronoun
I me my mine
you (thou) you (thee) your (thy) yours (thine)
he him his his
she her her hers
it it its (no appostrophe) its
we us our ours
they them their theirs
Noun type Nominative Oblique Genitive
Proper Valerie Valerie Valerie’s
Common, sg. book book book’s
Common, pl. books books books’
PRONOUN CASES

7. VERBS: DESCRIBE ACTION OR A STATE
Verbs have several characteristics:
 Verbs can be either transitive or intransitive. When transitive they may take a
direct object, when intransitive they may not.
 Verbs can be in the active or passive voice. When active the subject of the verb
is acting, when passive the subject of the verb is being acted upon.
 Verbs forms can be either finite or non-finite. Finite forms are inflected forms
indicating person, number, tense, and mood, while non-finite forms are
uninflected and devoid of person, number, tense, and mood.

8. VERBS: TRANSITIVE VS. INTRANSITIVE
 Transitive vs. Intransitive
 Transitive verbs take a direct object and often do not make sense
without a direct object: He opened the door.
(without an object (the door) the sentence does not make much sense).
Only transitive verbs use the passive voice; e.g. The door was opened.
 Intransitive verbs never take an object: He appeared and disappeared.
(you cannot appear or disappear something). Intransitive verbs can not
use the passive voice; * He is appeared.
 Some verbs can be both transitive and intransitive, but their meanings
are different:
dis·play
transitive verb
to put or spread before the view <display the flag>;
to make evident <displayed great skill> .
intransitive verb
to make a breeding display <penguins displayed and copulated>
synonyms see show
Incorrect: * The dialog box displays. (unless the dialog box was hatched from an
egg!)
Correct: The dialog box is displayed. (or better, The dialog box appears.)

9. VERBS: ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE VOICE
Active:
 The subject performs the action of the verb
 Active voice emphasizes the who and what
 Both intransitive and transitive verbs
Ex.: Valerie left. Valerie opens the book.
Passive:
 The subject receives the action of the verb
 Passive voice emphasizes the what only
 Transitive verbs only
 The performer (agent) is usually not mentioned
 Form: to be + past participle
Ex.: The book is opened (by Valerie).

10. VERBS: NON-FINITE
Non-finite forms are basically the principle parts of a verb without
inflection: no person, no tense, no mood is indicated:
 Base: The dictionary form of the verb
(type, sing)
Note: Regular verbs (weak verbs) are listed in the dictionary with just the
base form. Irregular verbs (strong verbs) are list with the base, simple
past, and past participle. The base, simple past, and present and past
participle are required to form all the tenses.
 Infinitive: to + base form
(to type, to sing)
 Gerund: base + ing (always regular)
(typing, singing; used as nouns)
 Present participle: base + ing (always regular)
(typing, singing; used as adjectives or with a form of to be)
 Past participle: base + ed or irregular
(typed, sung; used as adjectives or with a form of to have)

11. VERBS: FINITE
Finite verbs have these characteristics:
 Person indicates who or what is doing the action, whether
the speaker, the addressee, or someone or something
else. English has three persons: First, Second, Third.
 Number indicates how many people or things are doing
the action, whether one or many. English has singular or
plural.
 Tense indicates the time of the action, which can be past,
present, or future. English has 16 tenses.
 Mood indicates the way the action is viewed — whether it
actually happened, or might have happened, or should
happen. English has the indicative, subjunctive, and
imperative moods. Mood is also indicated by the use of
modal verbs.

12. VERBS: FINITE--TENSES
Tense is a property of verbs to indicate when
an action happened, happens, or will
happen. The usual tenses are past, present,
and future. English has two basic tenses
(simple present and simple past) with all
other tenses a compound form with an
auxiliary verb plus a participle.

13. VERBS: FINITE—TENSE, SIMPLE FORMS
Incomplete from the point of
speaking
Complete from the point of
speaking
Tense: Simple Present Tense: Simple Past
1st person sing. I type 1st person sing. I typed
2nd person sing. You type 2nd person sing. You typed
3rd person sing. He, she it types 3rd person sing. He, she, it typed
1st person plural We type 1st person plural We typed
2nd person plural You type 2nd person plural You typed
3rd person plural They type 3rd person plural They typed
Auxiliary: do + base form
for questions, negative, emphatic
Auxiliary: did + base form
for questions, negative, emphatic

14. VERBS: FINITE--AUXILIARIES
There are two types of auxiliary verbs:
 1. Inflected auxiliary verbs (used with participles, simple present/past):
 Be + present participle (progressive tense and passive voice)
 Have + past participle (perfect tenses)
 Do + simple present and Did + simple past (for negative, questions, and
emphatic)
 2. Modal auxiliary verbs (used with base form) :
 Affect the mood of the verb by indicating ability, obligation, necessity,
permission
 No non-finite forms (no infinitive, gerund, participle)
 No 3rd person singular form with –s
 Cannot act as auxiliaries for each other
Present Past Meaning
Will Would Futurity
Shall Should Futurity, necessity
Can Could Ability
May Might Possibility,
permission
Must, ought to, need to Necessity

15. VERBS: FINITE—TENSE, COMPOUND FORMS
Incomplete from the point of
speaking
Complete from the point of speaking
Tense: Example: Tense: Example:
With auxiliary be + present participle; have + past participle
Present Progressive I am typing Past Progressive I was typing
Present Perfect I have typed Past Perfect I had typed
Present Perfect
Progressive
I have been typing Past Perfect
Progressive
I had been typing
With modal auxiliary will/would + base form
Future I will type Future Perfect I will have typed
Future Progressive I will be typing Future Perfect
Progressive
I will have been
typing
Conditional I would type Past Conditional I would have typed
Conditional
Progressive
I would be typing Past Conditional
Progressive
I would have been
typing

16. VERBS: FINITE--MOODS
Mood: A verb form inflected to indicate the manner in which the action or
state expressed by a verb is viewed with respect to such functions as
factuality, possibility, or command. English has three moods:
 Indicative: indicates that something has happened, is happening, or
will happen in the real world (realis).
Ex: You will get out of here. (Indicative, future)
 Imperative: gives an order. The subject, you, is understood.
Ex: Get out of here.
 Subjunctive: expresses condition, hypothesis, contingency, and
possibility rather than actual facts. Something that has happened, is
happening, or will happen, not in the real world but in someone’s
mind (irrealis). Used mostly in dependent clauses.
Ex.: He insists that you get out of here. (subjunctive, present).
Subjunctive tenses match those of the indicative and are
distinguished only by the third person singular simple present form
(dropping of the –s: He stays at home. vs. I insist he stay at home.),
and the verb to be (be vs. am, are, is; I, he were vs. was)

17. VERBS: REALIS VS. IRREALIS
 Realis moods are a category of grammatical moods that indicate that
something is actually the case (or actually not the case); in other words, the
state of which is known. The most common realis mood is the indicative mood.
Ex: You failed the class. (past indicative)
If you do your homework, you will not fail the class. (present indicative)
You can fail the class without difficulty. (modal indicating ability)
 Irrealis moods indicate that something is not actually the case, such as
necessity, possibility, requirement, wish or desire, fear, or as part of counter-
factual reasoning. The irrealis mood is expressed through the imperative
mood, the subjunctive mood, and through the use of modal auxiliaries.
 Irrealis verbs forms are used when speaking of an event which has not yet
happened, is not likely to happen, or is otherwise far removed from the real
course of events.
Ex: Don’t fail the class. (imperative)
If you had done your homework, you wouldn't have failed the class. (past
subjunctive)
You might fail the class. (modal indicating possibility)

18. PHRASE
A phrase is a group of words functioning as a single unit in a sentence.
There are several types of phrases:
 Prepositional phrase with a preposition as head (in love, over the
rainbow).
 Noun phrase with a noun as head (the black cat, a cat on the mat)
 Verb phrase with a finite verb as head (eat cheese, jump up and
down), or with a non-finite verb as head:
 Participial phrase with a participle (acting as an adjective) as head
(Shopping at her favorite stores, Samantha spent her entire
paycheck. )
 Gerund phrase with a gerund (acting as a noun) as head
(Shopping on line is Samantha’s favorite pastime.)
 Infinitive phrase with an infinitive (acting as a noun) as head
(Samantha loves to shop for bargains.)
 Adjectival phrase with an adjective as head (full of toys, fraught with
guilt)
 Adverbial phrase with an adverb as head (very carefully)

19. CLAUSE
A clause a group of words consisting of a subject and a
predicate. The subject is what the sentence is about, while
the predicate tells something about the subject. The
subject is a noun or pronoun and any complements and
the predicate is a verb and any complements.
Examples: It is cold (it=subject, is cold= predicate); The man
in white sold him the ice cream (The man in
white=subject, sold him the ice cream=predicate)
There are two types of clauses:
 Independent
An independent clause demonstrates a complete thought;
it is a complete sentence: for example, "I am sad."
 Subordinate (or dependent)
A subordinate clause is not a complete sentence and
depends on an independent clause to make sense: for
example, "because I had to move.“

20. CLAUSE: SUBORDINATE
Subordinate or dependent clauses can be either adjective, adverb, or
noun clauses based on how they are used in a sentence.
 Adjective (or relative) clauses modify nouns or pronouns and, in order
to make the relationship clear, follow the noun or pronoun they modify.
Example: Our class, which meets at nine in the morning, discusses the
importance and use of grammar in our schools. (An adjective clause
modifies the noun class.) Relative clauses can be restrictive (no
commas used) or non-restrictive (commas used).
 Adverb clauses modify single words (verbs, adjectives, or adverbs) or
entire phrases or clauses. They always begin with a subordinating
conjunction. Adverb clauses answer the questions how? where? when?
why? and to what extent? Adverb clauses appear in any of several places in
the sentence as long as the relationship is clear and its position conveys the
intended purpose.
Example: After class was over, Susan decided to meet with her group to
discuss the paper. (An adverb clause modifies the main clause and tells
when.)
 Noun clauses act as nouns in sentences (subjects, direct objects, indirect
objects, or compliments). They may begin with a relative pronoun or "by,"
"whether," "when," "where," "why," or "how."
Examples: Whoever wins the race will receive the trophy. (A noun clause
serves as the subject of the sentence.)

21. SENTENCE
A sentence consists of one or more clauses (subject and predicate).
Sentences are classified by type:
 A simple sentence consists of a single independent clause with no dependent clauses:
I drink coffee.
 A compound sentence consists of multiple independent clauses with no dependent
clauses. These clauses are joined together using conjunctions, punctuation, or both: I
drink coffee; he drinks tea.
 A complex sentence consists of at least one independent clause and one dependent
clause: I drink coffee when I am drowsy.
 A complex-compound sentence (or compound-complex sentence) consists of
multiple independent clauses, at least one of which has at least one dependent
clause: I drink coffee when I am drowsy, and he drinks tea when he can’t sleep.
Sentences are classified by purpose:
 A declarative sentence or declaration, the most common type, commonly makes a
statement: I am going home.
 An interrogative sentence or question is commonly used to request information:
When are you going to work?
 An exclamatory sentence or exclamation is generally a more emphatic form of
statement expressing emotion: What a wonderful day this is!
 An imperative sentence or command tells someone to do something: Go to work at
7:30 tomorrow morning.

22. SOME REFERENCES
 http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/
 http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/index.htm
 https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/5/
 http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/
 http://www.gpschools.org/ci/depts/eng/StyleSheet/diagramming.html
 http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/resource_gram.html
 Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing by Claire Kehrwald Cook