WRITING GRAMMATICALLY

Transitive and Intransitive VERBS

"Transitive" means "going across". A transitive verb is one in which the action goes across from the subject (the doer of the action) to the object (the receiver of the action). In other words a transitive verb is one that takes an object. Examples: Mary (subject) hugged (transitive verb) John (object) I (subject) appreciate (transitive verb) your concern (object). An intransitive verb is one that has no object. Examples: John smiled happily. ("Happily" is not the object of "smiled". It is an adverb telling us how he smiled.) The mail will arrive soon. ("soon" is an adverb modifying "arrive", not an object) In the two last sentences no action has crossed over from one noun to another.

VERBS

"action" words: to run, to exist, to love.

INDEPENDENT CLAUSE

(a) An Independent clause makes sense by itself (could be a sentence). Examples: Worlds collide. I read it in the paper. Bring me my slippers. Note: Commands contain their own (understood) subject, i.e. you. Example: Sit! Is an independent clause and a complete sentence because it contains a subject (you, understood) and a verb. More examples: Come here Roll over. Put that down!

DEPENDENT CLAUSE

(b) A Dependent clause does not make sense by itself; it is incomplete. Examples: When you see her... Which looked strange... Since you asked...

CLAUSE

A clause is a group of words that must contain at least one subject/verb combination.

PHRASE

A group of words that does not contain any subject/verb combinations: Examples: In the event sitting by the river shattered by the discovery.

IDENTIFYING PREDICATE VERBS

A predicate verb,(as opposed to a verb form such as an infinitive,(to do), a gerund,(Running), or a participle (delighted)) must have both a subject and a tense. A verb may consist of more than one word. When a verb contains more than one word, the verb consists of a main verb, which identifies the kind of action taking place, and helping verbs, which complete the tense of the verb. The complete verb consists of both the main verb and its helpers. In this course you will be asked to identify complete verbs. complete verb Example: They should have known the danger. subj. helper helper main verb

SENTENCE

A sentence is a complete thought expressed in words. It must have at least one subject and at least one predicate and can be short and simple or long and complicated. Examples: Guinness is good for you. Put the light out when you leave. Before you make my tea, mow the lawn, clean the windows and fix that dripping faucet. What are you waiting for?

SUBJECT COMPLIMENT

A subject complement is a noun or an adjective that relates to the subject but comes after a linking verb. If the word coming after the verb is an adjective it can also be called a predicate adjective. This change in terminology allows us to differentiate between a noun subject complement and an adjective subject complement. Examples: The Japanese scientist is brilliant. S.C. The linking verb is followed by the predicate adjective (brilliant) which describes the subject. Our economics instructor was nauseated. S.C. The linking verb is followed by the predicate adjective (nauseated) which describes the subject. Henry Jackson is an agricultural engineer. S.C. The linking verb is followed by a noun which tells us more about the subject. Brilliant, nauseated and engineer are all subject complements. TIP: The most common linking verbs are is, are, was, were, and will be. Look for them when the sentence seems to have no verb. They will almost always be followed by a subject complement.

DIRECT OBJECTS of action verbs

Direct Objects Transitive verbs, as we have seen, are followed by a direct object. You can identify a direct object in a sentence by asking WHO? or WHAT? after an action verb. If there is an answer to this question, that answer is the direct object in the sentence. Direct objects are nouns or pronouns. Examples: Mrs. Simms hired the applicant. (Hired whom? The applicant) direct object The employer posted the work schedule. (Posted what? The schedule) direct object (You) Close the door. (Close what? the door) direct object CAUTION Do not confuse the subject with the direct object. You identify the subject by asking WHO? or WHAT? before the main verb. You identify the direct object by asking WHO? or WHAT? after the main verb. The subject is the doer of the action; the object is that to whom or which the action is done. Example: John hugged Mary at the end of the game.. WHO hugged? John, so John is the subject. Hugged whom? Mary, so Mary is the direct object.

SUBJECTS AND PREDICATES

Every sentence is comprised of two components: the SUBJECT and the PREDICATE.

SUBJECTS CAN BE PLURAL

Examples: Bart and Homer are in trouble again. Running, swimming, and walking tone up the muscles. Groups of words (phrases) can be subjects. Examples: Running a marathon proves your stamina. Reading that book inspired me. To challenge authority could be dangerous. TIP: To find the subject of a sentence, look for the main verb and ask yourself who or what is the "doer" of the action denoted by that verb.

FUTURE TENSE VERBS

Future tense verbs describe an action that will take place in the future. Example: Nancy will be mailing / will mail / will have been mailing/will have mailed the presents to her parents soon. ("Will be mailing" is the verb; notice again that it is an ""ing" word with two helping verbs in front of it. The verb is in the future tense because it is describing an action which will take place at some point in the future. Most future tense verbs have the words WILL or SHALL in them.) TIP: To decide what tense a verb is in, try putting the words "yesterday", "today, " and "tomorrow " at the beginning of the sentence. If yesterday fits, the verb is in the past tense. If today fits, the verb is in the present tense. If tomorrow fits, the verb is in the future tense. Verb Mood: Subjunctive The normal mood (or mode) of expression is called the Indicative; the Subjunctive is used in hypothetical situations (usually indicated by the word "if"). Examples: Indicative Subjunctive Is, was, can, will, shall were, could, would, should If I were you (not If I was you...) I would go. If Tommy Douglas were here today, he would be appalled. If only you would listen to me, you would understand. Would I were rich! If I were rich, I could buy that.

IF A 'GERUND' IS A SUBJECT

If a gerund is the first word in the sentence, it will be the subject. A gerund is a verbal noun, an "ing" word. Examples: Mediating calms my mind. Walking is good exercise.

VERB TENSE

Most verbs are action words. They tell when the action is occurring, so they have three main tenses: past, present and future.

PAST TENSE VERBS

Past tense verbs describe an action which took place in the past. Example: Nancy mailed a number of Christmas parcels to her parents. ("Mailed" is the verb. It is in the past tense because it is describing an action which took place in the past. Most past tense verbs end in "ed.") Other Past forms are "was mailing, had mailed, had been mailing, would have been mailing".

PRESENT TENSE VERBS

Present tense verbs describe an action that is occurring right now. Example: Nancy is mailing the presents to her parents. She takes them to the Post Office. "Is mailing" is the verb; note that it is an "ing" word with a helping verb in front of it. The verb is in the present tense because it is describing an action which is taking place at the present time. The "ing" verb with a helping verb in front of it is a common form of the present tense.)

Non action VERBS

Some verbs are not action verbs. They are intransitive and are used to describe the state or condition of the subject in the sentence. Because they link the subject with an adjective or noun which describes the subject, they are called linking verbs. That to which they are linked is called the subject complement. Examples The Japanese scientist is brilliant. The verb is links the subject (scientist) with the subject complement (brilliant) which describes the subject. Notice that there is no action taking place in this sentence. Our economics instructor was nauseated. The verb was links the subject (instructor) with the subject complement (nauseated) which describes the subject's condition. Again, the instructor is not doing anything; we are simply describing her condition. Miranda will be unhappy with her result. The verb will be links the subject (Miranda) with the subject complement (unhappy) which describes Miranda's state of mind. Notice that Miranda is not doing anything in this sentence. TIP : Most of the time the linking verb is some form of the verb "to be." The most common forms of this verb are is, are, was, were, and will be. So, if you can't seem to find an action verb in the sentence, look for one of these linking verbs. Some other linking verbs are seems, feels, appears, looks Examples in use: Billy feels apprehensive. He looks guilty. The situation appears serious.

IDENTIFYING SUBJECTS

Subjects often, but not always, are found at the beginning of the sentence and before the verb. Examples: Stan (noun, subject) scored (verb) a goal. The crowd (noun, subject) cheered (verb) wildly. Sometimes you have to look harder for the subject. Examples: One of my textbooks seems to be missing. ("One" is the subject, not "textbooks") Here and there are never subjects. Look beyond the verb in sentences beginning with here and there to find the subject. Examples: There are no more apples. ("Apples" is the subject) Here she is. ("she" is the subject) In a command, which is an order to do something, the subject does not appear in the sentence. We can assume that the subject is the pronoun you. Examples: Begin with the third person on your right. (You (understood) is the subject.) Do not go there. "You" (understood) is the subject. In most questions, the subject comes between the helping verb and the main verb in the sentence. Examples: Did you see the shooting star last night? (The subject is "you," and it comes between the helping verb "did" and the main verb "see.")

PREDICATE

The PREDICATE is what you are saying about the subject and will be contain a VERB (plus its modifiers). Examples: The king (subject) is riding to battle. (predicate) Jack and Jill (subject) went up the hill. (predicate)

SUBJECT

The SUBJECT is what you are talking about and is denoted by a NOUN, or something functioning as a noun, e.g. a pronoun, (plus its modifiers)

PREDICATES VS PREDICATE VERBS

The complete predicate contains all the words that tell us about the subject... the simple predicate (or predicate verb) is only the action word and its "helpers". In this course the term "verb" always means the same thing as simple predicate or predicate verb. The term "predicate" is always used to refer to the complete predicate. Do not confuse "complete verb" and "complete predicate"—they refer to different things. Examples: PREDICATE VERB: The king of Normandy was very tall. PREDICATE: The king of Normandy was very tall. COMPLETE VERB: The king of Normandy had been very brave during the battle. COMPLETE PREDICATE: The king of Normandy had been very brave during the battle. The predicate includes the object or complement and to keep things simpler, we will only talk about identifying the predicate verb itself.

GUIDELINE TWO: ADVERBS WITH VERBS

The helping verbs may be separated from the main verb by one or more adverbs. Examples: Giselle has always given the answer to that question. Tao isn't going to the park with us. (Notice that the "n't" is not underlined) Here is a list of some common adverbs that come between the helping verb and the main verb: Not (n't) Also Always Quite Very Ever Never Seldom

OBJECT

The object is the receiver of the action denoted by the verb. Example: Mary (subject) hugged John.(object)

SUBJECT

The subject is the doer of the action denoted by the verb.

GUIDELINE THREE: 'ING' WORDS

Words ending in "ing" are only part of the verb if they have one or more helping verb coming before them. Otherwise they are gerunds, or they are being used to begin a present participial phrase. Examples: Swimming every day is a very good exercise for people with arthritis. ("Swimming" is a gerund that begins the gerund phrase "swimming every day"; it is the subject of the sentence.) Mary Olsen, swimming in lane six, has won this event for the past two years. (Swimming" is a present participle beginning the adjectival participial phrase "swimming in lane six." (More about this in Lesson 2) Marilyn Bell, the Canadian champion, was swimming in both the butterfly and the 400 metre free style events. ("Was swimming" is the main verb in the sentence. Notice that the "ing" word it has a helping verb in front. To be the main verb in the sentence, an "ing" word must always have at least one helping verb in front of it.)

INDIRECT OBJECTS of action verbs

You can identify indirect objects in a sentence by asking TO WHOM OR WHAT? or FOR WHOM OR WHAT? after the verb. If there is an answer to this question, that answer is the indirect object in the sentence. Indirect objects are nouns or pronouns. Examples Shawna gave Kiko a Canadian flag. I.O. D.O. (Gave to whom? Kiko (indirect object) ) (Gave what? flag (direct object) ) She gave me her answer by noon. I.O. D.O. (Gave to whom? me (indirect object)) (Gave what? answer (direct object) )

PREPOSITIONS

go in front of nouns to indicate the relationship of the noun to the rest of the sentence: (He went) over the hill; after the event; for a reason.

CONJUNCTIONS

joining words (join words of the same grammatical type): bread and butter (two nouns), sing or whistle (two verbs), poor but happy, (two adjectives) etc.

ADJECTIVES

modify (describe) nouns: great ideas, different folks, fat cat.

ADVERBS

modify verbs: sing loudly (how?), die soon (when?), here (where?) they come.

PRONOUNS

stand-ins for nouns: I, you, them, who, etc.

NOUNS

naming words: John, tree, happiness.

SIMPLE SUBJECTS VS COMPLETE SUBJECTS

simple subject as opposed to the complete subject.. The difference between the two: the simple subject is the main word(s) that tells us whom or what the sentence is about the complete subject includes modifiers and articles—words that tell something about the subject. Examples: SIMPLE SUBJECT: The king of Normandy was very tall. COMPLETE SUBJECT: The king of Normandy was very tall.

INTERJECTIONS

words thrown into a sentence, not a necessary part of its structure (often exclamations): ah, oh, oops! wow! hmm, er, etc.