Grammar is simply a way to describe how words and phrases relate to each other
traditional grammar is very poor at doing so
Some studies indicate that us university students taught
Recap
Nouns
Person place or thing
people:
doctor, professor
abstraction
honesty, evil
places: Vancouver
Verbs
describe action, state or an occurrence
often called action words
core part of speech
Adjectives:
Modify nouns
answer questions, such as “how much”
Different kinds: articles, demonstrative, interrogative
Adverbs
Modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs
Prepositions
link words together, show relationships
eg, through, into ,over
Conjunctions:
Connect words
The strange case of UP
Up can act as a verb, adverb, adjective, preposition, or part of a compound noun.
Intro to Punctuation
Punctuation is used in English to show relations between parts of a sentence
Courts cases have been won and lost on the basis of placement of a punctuation mark
Not an exact science
Use punctuation only according to the structural rules/grammatical rules
using spoken cadence is very inaccurate
Basic sentence
S/V/O:
the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Intro S/V/O
After sighing loudly, the dog opened an eye and peered at the fox
No length limit
irritated by the fox’s obvious arrogance as well as his overt disdain for his much deserved sleep and general peace of mind, the dog slowly got to his feet.
Adverb
however, the dog was not particularly concerned about the speed or agility of the fox
Double dash (story techniques)
Persistence, intelligence and, experience —
End of line distinctions
S/V/O EOLD
The dog knew that he could use his motor cycle to catch the fox , who was limited by the speed and endurance of his muscles
The dog obviously had another advantage : better technology
The fox had clearly underestimated the extent of the dog’s technical advantages — a blunder that might as well prove fatal
Insert (embedded phrase)
S or S/V Insert V/O or O
The dog’s motorcycle ,which had been modified last week idled under a nearby tree.
The fox was afraid — although he would never admit it
Balance
S/V/O S/V/O
The fox was hoping that he could steal the bike and make his getaway, But the wily dog had outsmarted him when he modified the bike last week
Only now the dog’s foresight become apparent : he pulled out his remote control and turned off the bike.
the fox now realized he had misjudged the dog ; however, he still didn’t recognize the full extent of his miscalculation.
The dog pulled out another remote ; he pushed a button, and a net fell from the tree.
List/Parallel
S/V or S/V/O item item item
the net helped the dog trap, embarrass, and marinate the fox
The fox tried to escape the trap in three ways : by crawling through the mesh, by tearing apart the cords, and pulling off the net.
all the fox’s attempts were to no avail because the dog had planned his trap in great detail : he purchased a net with an extremely fine mesh; he reinforced the net with very strong cords; and he coated the net with a goopy mixture of honey and oregano.