3.0 A Revisit to My English Grammar Learning Journey: And Repeating It Again

Writing is hard, and it will occasionally backfire. In the previous article, I mentioned looking at grammar as less important on the learning curve. Unfortunately, grammar is still a core element, especially for learners of English as a second language. In this article, I will take time to revisit the key grammar components, as well as clarify my classification system. Before moving on, what do you expect English grammar to do for you? While writing this article, I conducted some book shopping and content factchecking in the background. I found one commonality: most English grammar textbooks on the market do not clearly align high school and college-level writing; the high school versions also do not clearly separate Parts of Speech from other relevant topics.

When we loop within Parts of Speech, we may neglect the learner’s ability to focus on higher-level formation—composing phrases and clauses to make a statement more powerful. For this reason, I interpret English grammar in my own way and explain how learners can arrive at a more advanced level. I divide basic English grammar into three parts: A) Parts of Speech, B) Sentence Structure and Types, and C) Phrases and Dependent Clauses. I put a D) Summary at the end. The weight of each component in the overall learning pattern should be 60%, 20%, and 20%, respectively, in my view.

A)       Parts of Speech

In the Parts of Speech section, there are eight primary categories that cover most of the vocabulary you will learn. The eight primary parts include 1) Verbs, 2) Nouns, 3) Pronouns, 4) Adjectives, 5) Adverbs, 6) Prepositions, 7) Conjunctions, and 8) Interjections/Expressions.

1) Verbs (v) are words that describe an action, condition, or state of being, and they change with tense (past, present, future) and form (e.g., participles). Main verbs indicate the action with respect to tense; helping/auxiliary verbs such as do, have, be signal time; and modal verbs such as can, should, will express attitude, possibility, or obligation.

2) Nouns (n) refer to the names of people and places, specific things (as subjects or objects), or ideas. To specify further, nouns include proper and common, singular and plural, collective, possessive, mass, partitive, compound (noun + noun), and verbal nouns (gerunds), etc.

3) Pronouns (pron.) ("pro-nouns") stand in for nouns in a sentence and must agree in person, number, and case, such as you, I, me, he, she, it, we, they, etc. Subcategories include personal, possessive, reflexive (-self/selves), relative (who, whom, which, that), demonstrative (this, that, these, those), interrogative (who/what/which + ever), indefinite (someone, nothing, few), and reciprocal (each other, one another). Pronouns are used frequently, often in positions we barely notice.

4) Adjectives (adj.) are modifiers of nouns and pronouns. They function as descriptions, identifiers, and enumerators, and they can appear in attributive position (before the noun/pronoun) or predicative position (after a linking verb). I use the color “blue” as an example: We are sailing on the blue ocean versus the ocean is blue. Adjectives also commonly follow linking verbs (e.g., seem, become, feel).

5) Adverbs (adv.) modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or even an entire sentence. Many (but not all) end with -ly, such as exactly, probably, unfortunately, conversely, comfortably, etc. They often set tone, emphasis, or degree and can change how a statement is understood.

6) Prepositions (prep.) introduce prepositional phrases and show relationships (often of time, place, direction, or cause) between words in a sentence—usually linking a noun or pronoun to another word. Examples include on, in, at, by, about, with, to, since, over, and multi-word prepositions such as because of (when followed by a noun).

7) Conjunctions connect words, phrases, and clauses to form longer, more logically connected statements. This includes: 1) Coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, yet, so; 2) Correlative conjunctions: both ... and, either ... or, neither ... nor, not only ... but also; 3) Subordinating conjunctions connect clauses but make one dependent, such as after, once, until, since, when, even though, even if, as soon as, rather than, so that, etc.; and 4) Conjunctive adverbs link two independent clauses, such as accordingly, however, instead, then, therefore, etc.

8) Interjections are straightforward expressions, often used in speech and creative writing, such as Congratulations! Wow! Hello!

These eight parts of speech are essential for mastering general English structure. You can communicate more clearly by recognizing and applying these categories.

B)       Sentence Structures and Types

Sentence structure describes how word order and grammar are presented. The most common pattern is Subject–Verb–Object (SVO), which is often called a simple sentence; it is also an independent clause. What are the subject and object of a sentence? The subject is the referent that starts the sentence; it is usually a noun or a pronoun, depending on tone and context. The object is the noun or pronoun that receives the action; it can also be an idea. With subject + verb + object, a sentence forms a complete predication. Depending on the message, complements may be added for description and clarification. For a subject complement: “John is a handsome guy.” The breakdown is John (subject), is (linking verb), handsome (subject complement), and guy (predicate noun). In some cases, we use transitive verbs and/or passive voice, and there can also be an indirect object when describing specific situations. We can summarize common patterns as follows:

1.        Subject + Verb + Direct Object.

2.        Subject + Verb + Subject Complement.

3.        Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object.

4.        Subject + Transitive Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object.

5.        Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object + Object Complement.

There are many more variations when different situations arise.

A simple sentence is interchangeable with an independent clause. A dependent clause, however, cannot stand alone because it does not express a complete idea (even if it contains a subject and verb). An independent clause has a clear, complete message; it may include compound elements (subjects or complements) and phrases. When two independent clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction, the result is a compound sentence. Independent clauses can also relate to a semicolon; a comma alone is not sufficient unless it is used with a conjunction or appropriate punctuation. A complex sentence is formed by one independent clause and at least one dependent clause, often connected through a subordinating conjunction such as because. A compound-complex sentence includes two coordinated independent clauses and at least one dependent clause; it often uses coordinating conjunctions and embedded phrases to describe a more complex situation.

By now, you may have an idea of which sentence forms to use in different situations—and you may not even notice it in real life. When you ask someone a question, you use an interrogative sentence. When you describe your experience during a certain period, location, or space, you use a declarative sentence. When you give a straightforward command, you use an imperative sentence. Whenever you need to express strong emotion, you use an exclamatory sentence. Based on the situation, you can vary sentence structures and types to fit your purpose. Sentence structure and type should be part of the “game” if you want to write and speak appropriately.

C)      Phrases and Dependent Clauses

Phrases and dependent clauses are frequent trouble spots in sentence structure. Neither can serve as a complete sentence on its own, and both can become confusing when writers rely on them without noticing what is missing. These two “brothers” are common sources of grammatical errors in writing and speaking. Phrases are groups of words that do not contain a complete subject-and-predicate unit. Dependent clauses, on the other hand, do contain a subject and predicate, but they begin with a subordinating word and rely on an independent clause for full meaning. Many mistakes happen unconsciously in writing, and they can spill into daily communication especially when the subject/object relationship becomes unclear.

Phrases are embedded in the system of parts of speech. When you tell your story from a subject to an object, you also express how you feel about it. Yes correct! You are using noun phrases such as the old car and the smelly carpet, etc. When phrases move toward verbs, they form verb phrases, for example: You (pron.) should have woken me up! At a higher level, we also have Verbals, which can function as nouns, adjectives, and even adverbs. We usually divide Verbals into three subgroups: participles (present or past participles), gerunds (using -ing forms as nouns), and infinitives (using to + verb to function as a noun, adjective, or adverb in a sentence). Also, there are appositive phrases and absolute phrases. Appositive phrases rename or describe a nearby noun or pronoun; absolute phrases add extra information by combining a noun/pronoun with a participle and modifiers to modify the whole sentence. Don’t forget about phrasal verbs, too. Overall, phrases are a core category of word groups for everyday use.

Dependent clauses are also known as subordinate clauses. With subordinating conjunctions, a dependent clause adds an additional layer of meaning to an independent clause. There are three main subcategories: adjective clauses (relative clauses), adverb clauses (adverbial clauses), and noun clauses. Adjective clauses modify a noun or pronoun, often using wh- words; for example, the old school bus, which is due to retire next week, breaks down in the middle of the road. Adverb clauses modify a verb, adjective, or adverb by adding information about time, place, condition, or manner; for example, I am ready to go to the mall as soon as you are dressed. Noun clauses function as nouns (as the subject, object, or complement of a sentence); for example, my professor found out who had plagiarized on the exam. Direct speech and reported (indirect) speech are closely related to clauses and sentence structure. Direct speech reports a speaker’s exact words in quotation marks, often introduced by a reporting verb such as say (with appropriate tense). In contrast, reported speech paraphrases the speaker’s words and typically shifts verb tense back (e.g., present → past) depending on context. In this case, you refer to someone’s words within your own sentence without quoting them directly.

D)      Summary

After this revision of basic English grammar, we reviewed the core components and how they work together. As I recommended at the beginning of the article, Parts of Speech should take around 60% of your overall grammar focus, while the other two areas should take about 20% each. If you do not feel comfortable with this classification, please revisit the sections above and do further research on your own. In fact, many students recognize grammar patterns instantly but do not know how to label them or filter them according to their needs. Out of the eight parts of speech above, you can weigh them differently depending on whether you are writing or speaking. When you need to set an attitude, you need language that supports your statement. Sentence structure varies by setting and purpose, so you can reinvent these ingredients into your own style of presentation and communication. Together with phrases and dependent clauses, you can add clarification as uniquely as possible. Overall, you need to know your ingredients before cooking a meal—and you need your own recipe and flavor to present your ideas to the world.

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