Educate Yourself

RD SUGGESTED LEARNING SOURCES

KHAN ACADEMY

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COURSERA

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TED TALKS

ted.com

OPENCOURSEWARECONSORTIUM

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iTUNUS U

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WIKIVERSITY

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TEXTBOOKREVOLUTION

textbookrevolution.org

Subject-verb agreement is one of the first things you learn in English class:

“My friend is Japanese.” (singular)

“My friends are Japanese.” (plural)

In this English lesson, you’re going to learn a few more advanced cases of subject-verb agreement that confuse many learners.

everybody / anybody / somebody / nobody

everyone / anyone / someone / no one

These subjects are all singular!

“Everyone have problems.”

“Everyone has problems.”

“I don’t know if anybody is in the office right now.”

“How do you react if someone gives you a compliment?”

“Nobody likes the new English teacher.”

club / team / family / army

These subjects are also singular, even though they are talking about a group of people.

“My family is visiting me for the holidays.”

“The basketball team has a new coach.”

Note: In British English “family” and “team” are often plural.

police

Usually, “police” is plural:

“The police are investigating the murder.”

“Police have arrested three suspects.”

To talk about an individual member of the police, we can say policeman or policewoman - or the gender-neutral term police officer.

people / children / men / women / mice / feet

These words are irregular plural nouns (nouns that are not formed by adding -s) and they take the plural form of the verb:

“Our children are very well-behaved.”

“The people like the new president.”

“Men don’t usually enjoy shopping for clothes.”

“My feet are cold.”

both of / a few of / many / several

These words always take the plural form of the verb:

“Both of my brothers are older than me.”

“A few of these products have defects.”

“Many of the houses in this neighborhood don’t have garages.”

“Several of the students aren’t going to pass.”

half of / a third of / 40% of / some / most

These words can be singular OR plural depending on what follows them!

“Half of the students are from another country.”

“Half of the class is from another country.”

“Some of these facts are incorrect.”

“Some of this information is incorrect.”

“40% of the people don’t support the new law.”

“40% of the country doesn’t support the new law.”

Is “data” singular or plural?

There is a debate about the word “data”! Technically, data is plural (the singular form is “datum”). However, in common usage, people often treat “data” like “information” – as an uncountable noun, which takes the singular form. So both forms are correct: “The data is accurate” and “The data are accurate.” You can read more about the “data debate” here and here.
- See more at: http://www.espressoenglish.net/advanced-subject-verb-agreement-exercises/#sthash.Sp915UF3.dpuf

Verb Mood

by Maeve Maddox

English verbs have four moods: indicative, imperative, subjunctive, and infinitive.
Mood is the form of the verb that shows the mode or manner in which a thought is expressed.
1. Indicative Mood: expresses an assertion, denial, or question:
Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas.
Ostriches cannot fly.
Have you finished your homework?
2. Imperative Mood: expresses command, prohibition, entreaty, or advice:
Don’t smoke in this building.
Be careful!
Don’t drown that puppy!
3. Subjunctive Mood: expresses doubt or something contrary to fact.
Modern English speakers use indicative mood most of the time, resorting to a kind of “mixed subjunctive” that makes use of helping verbs:
If I should see him, I will tell him.
Americans are more likely to say:
If I see him, I will tell him.
The verb may can be used to express a wish:
May you have many more birthdays.
May you live long and prosper.
The verb were can also indicate the use of the subjunctive:
If I were you, I wouldn’t keep driving on those tires.
If he were governor, we’d be in better fiscal shape.
4. Infinitive Mood: expresses an action or state without reference to any subject. It can be the source of sentence fragments when the writer mistakenly thinks the infinitive form is a fully-functioning verb.
When we speak of the English infinitive, we usually mean the basic form of the verb with “to” in front of it: to go, to sing, to walk, to speak.
Verbs said to be in the infinitive mood can include participle forms ending in -ed and -ing. Verbs in the infinitive mood are not being used as verbs, but as other parts of speech:
To err is human; to forgive, divine. Here, to err and to forgive are used as nouns.
He is a man to be admired. Here, to be admired is an adjective, the equivalent of admirable. It describes the noun man.
He came to see you. Here, to see you is used as an adverb to tell why he came.

Source:
http://www.dailywritingtips.com

Lie or Lay

 

• LIE & LAY (c) King Features Syndicate Question: Is “lay” used correctly in this cartoon? Answer below. You'll lay an egg if you don't lie down      In general, irregular verbs are troublesome to learn. Regular verbs create their past and past participle forms by adding “d” or “ed” to the stem of their infinitives (love, loved, loved), but irregular verbs create past and past participle forms by altering their stems in unpredictable ways.       A number of common irregular verbs give people trouble, particularly: dive, drown, fly, hang, lead, prove, sit, set and shrink.      But lie and lay seem to give people more difficulty than do all the other irregular verbs combined. Here's why: The past tense form of lie is lay, so it's indistinguishable from lay in the present tense except in usage. (Sit and set, probably the irregular verbs that give people the most trouble next to lie and lay, for example, have no parts in common. It's sit, sat and sat but set, set, set.)      The principal parts (most-common verb forms) of lie are: lie (present,) lay (past) and lain (past participle).      The principal parts of lay are: lay (present), laid (past) and laid (past participle).      As an aid in choosing the correct verb forms, remember that lie means to recline, whereas lay means to place something, to put something on something.      • Lie means that the actor (subject) is doing something to himself or herself. It's what grammarians call a complete verb. When accompanied by subjects, complete verbs tell the whole story.      • Lay, on the other hand, means that the subject is acting on something or someone else; therefore, it requires a complement to make sense. Thus lay always takes a direct object. Lie never does.      More on “lie”: In its simplest (command) form, when the you is implied, lie is a sentence all by itself. If you tell your dog, “Lie,” as in “(You) lie (down),” that's a complete sentence. (The same is true, by the way, of sit.) In written material, we generally use down with lie when we mean to recline not because down is needed grammatically but because we wish to distinguish from the regular verb lie, meaning to tell an untruth (as in lie, lied, lied).      Tip: Always remember that lay is a transitive verb and requires a direct object. (A transitive verb acts as a conveyor belt, transmitting action or influence from the subject to the object.) The common saying, “Let's lay out in the sun,” is not only incorrect grammatically, it suggests a public promiscuity that's frowned on even in this age of sexual permissiveness because you're implying the existence of a direct object of lay: “Let's lay (her/him?) out in the sun.” Not that there's anything wrong with THAT! It's just ungrammatical unless you're talking about sex. Correct Usage: Lie Present tense: I lie down on my bed to rest my weary bones. Past tense: Yesterday, I lay there thinking about what I had to do during the day. Past participle: But I remembered that I had lain there all morning one day last week. Lay Present tense: As I walk past, I lay the tools on the workbench. Past tense: As I walked past, I laid the tools on the workbench. And: I laid an egg in class when I tried to tell that joke. Past participle: . . . I had laid the tools on the workbench.     AN IMPORTANT TIP:      Here's an easy way to get it right — every time — without remembering all that gobbleygook above.      When you bump into a lie-lay conundrum — when you aren't absolutely, 110 percent sure — do this quick little exercise.*      Write these six words — “lie, lay, lain” (to recline); then beside or below them — “lay, laid, laid” (to place or put down).      When students do that (I see it on the sides of their quizzes), they never — underline “never”— get it wrong.       Simple, but it works. I call it the Michiko Sato rule. The Michiko Sato Rule      I call this “The Michiko Sato Rule” because she invented that quick little way to make sure she always got it right in quizzes and exercises (and life).     When Michiko, who is now married and a mother living in Tokyo, was a student here, she would always write six words — three atop the other three — on her quizzes and exercises (we did 'em on paper then). Lie Lay Lain Lay Laid Laid      And she never got 'em wrong. Never!      I, therefore, being the smart guy that I am, developed the theory that if it worked for a student whose first language was Japanese, it would work for everyone. Give it a try.      Answer to “Zits” question: Oh, it should be “lie” as in “recline”; otherwise, he'd be putting “low” somewhere or %@#&-ing it.     Source: http://web.ku.edu

Verbs

Verbs are the most important component of any sentence.  These words talk about the action or the state of any noun or subject. This means  that verbs show what the subject is doing or what is the state or situation of the subject.
For example:
He ran to the store. - Here the verb ran describes the action of the subject ‘he’
She is a creative person. - Here there is no action being done. Instead the auxiliary verb ‘is’ shows the state of the subject ‘she’ as being ‘creative’.
There are different types and classifications of Verbs; some of the most important ones are listed below:

Action Verbs   
These verbs talk about what the subject is doing in the sentence. Action Verbs are one of the most easily identifiable types of verbs. To recognize them, you simply have to look for the word in the sentence that answers the question ‘What is the subject doing?’  e.g. -
Rose is painting the kitchen walls.
The subject here is Rose, and what is Rose doing? Rose is painting. Hence painting is our action verb.
My dog is sleeping on the sofa.
The subject here is dog, and what is the dog doing? The dog is sleeping. So sleeping is our action verb.

There are two types of Action Verbs which describe the Verb and the Subject doing the action and the Object on which the action is done, they are -
Transitive Verbs -
These Action Verbs have a definite object on which, or for which the action is being performed. That means that the action has a definite recipient or object.  To identify them you can ask the question what is the/did the subject -verb-?
Rose is painting the kitchen walls.
Here the verb is painting and the subject is Rose.
If we form the question - what is Rose painting?
The answer is- The kitchen walls.
Thus, we see that there was a specific object on which the action of painting was being done.
Hannah gave him a big hug.
Here we see that the action ‘gave’ is being performed by the subject Hannah.  So the question is what did Hannah give? And the answer is - A big hug.
Here, we also have a indirect object as ‘him’.  This indirect object would be the answer to the question-
Who did the subject (Hannah) -verb- (give) the object (hug) to?   
Intransitive Verbs -
These verbs also show an action but here there is no specific object on which the action is being done. To recognize these verbs, we ask the question what is the/did the subject -verb- ?  If there is no answer present, then the verb in the sentence is an Intransitive Verb.
Rose is painting right now.
Here, if we ask the question what is Rose painting?  There is no answer which means that in this sentence painting is an Intransitive Verb.
It is telling us about the action of the subject but there is no specific object for the action. 
Hannah sneezed repeatedly.
Here, the verb is sneezed. If we ask the question what did Hannah sneeze? There is no answer present for it making sneezed a intransitive verb.

Dynamic and Stative Verbs  
This category of verbs deals with the verb words themselves; and whether they indicate an action or a state of the subject. This category is not concerned with the object in particular.
Dynamic Verbs 
These verbs denote an actual action or expression or process done by the subject. They mean an action which can be seen or physically felt or the result of which is seen or physically felt by the object or an indirect object.
She buys new clothes every week.
Here the verb is buys which is an action done by the subject ‘she’, hence it is a dynamic verb.
He is swimming at the beach.
Here again we have the definite action swimming done by the subject ‘he’, making ‘swimming’ a dynamic verb in this sentence.
Stative Verbs
These verbs refer to the state of the subject or the situation of the subject. Stative Verbs tell us about the state of mind of the subject, or the relation between the subject and the object.
She prefers strawberry jam.
Here the Stative Verb is ‘prefers’ which shows the thinking of the subject ‘She’ towards the object, which is ‘jam’.
The cupboard requires a new coat of paint.
Here the subject is ‘cupboard’ and the stative verb is ‘requires’ which is telling about the relation between the subject ‘cupboard’ and the object ‘paint’.

Linking Verbs
These verbs are unlike other verbs as they do not tell anything about a subject themselves, instead Linking Verbs connect the subject to a noun or adjective that helps in describing or providing additional information about the subject.  Those nouns or adjectives are called the subject complements.
Lisa is fussy about food.
Here we see the subject is Lisa and the linking verb is ‘is’ which is connecting Lisa to the subject complement ‘fussy about food’ which is giving additional information about Lisa’s preferences.
They are stubborn children.
Here the linking verb is ‘are’ which is combining the subject They to the subject complement of ‘stubborn’ which is an adjective.
The best to recognize linking words in a sentence is to see whether the verb can be replaced by ‘is, am or are’. If the sentence still sounds logical you know you have a linking verb.
The students felt relieved.  - The students are relieved.
Hence ‘felt’ was a linking verb and not an action verb.  As ‘felt’ here is simply connecting the subject to the adjective.
Every student felt the relief. - Every student is/am/are the relief.
Hence in this sentence ‘felt’ is action verb as it is the action of ‘feeling an emotion.’

Using Verbs in Sentences -
To use verbs correctly in sentences you need to learn more about the construction and use of the various verbs. And how they change form according to tenses and use in a sentence.  For correct application verbs in written text you will need to know about -
Regular and Irregular Verbs - These are the two different ways in which verbs change to form different tenses. Whether to simply add ‘-ed’ at the end of a verb or does it take a different form altogether.
Finite and Non-Finite Verbs - These are verbs which can be either the main verb of a sentence or just one that  is used as an adjective or noun as well.
Modal Verbs - These verbs tell us whether something is probable or about the skills of a noun etc. There are 10 modal verbs in total and each have an important part in sentence formation.

List of Verbs, Verb Examples

Accept	Catch	Expand	Lie	Select
Achieve	Challenge	Explain	Like	Sell
Add	Change	Fear	Listen	Send
Admire	Cheat	Feel	Lose	Sing
Admit	Chew	Fight	Love	Snore
Adopt	Choose	Find	Make	Stand
Advise	Clap	Fly	Marry	Stare
Agree	Clean	Forget	Measure	Start
Allow	Collect	Forgive	Meet	Stink
Announce	Compare	Fry	Move	Study
Appreciate	Complain	Gather	Murder	Sweep
Approve	Confess	Get	Obey	Swim
Argue	Confuse	Give	Offend	Take
Arrive	Construct	Glow	Offer	Talk
Ask	Control	Greet	Open	Teach
Assist	Copy	Grow	Paint	Tear
Attack	Count	Guess	Pay	Tell
Bake	Create	Harass	Pick	Thank
Bathe	Cry	Hate	Play	Travel
Be	Damage	Hear	Pray	Type
Beat	Dance	Help	Print	Understand
Become	Deliver	Hit	Pull	Use
Beg	Destroy	Hope	Punch	Visit
Behave	Disagree	Identify	Punish	Wait
Bet	Drag	Interrupt	Purchase	Walk
Boast	Drive	Introduce	Push	Want
Boil	Drop	Irritate	Quit	Warn
Borrow	Earn	Jump	Race	Wed
Breathe	Eat	Keep	Read	Weep
Bring	Employ	Kick	Relax	Wink
Build	Encourage	Kiss	Remember	Worry
Burn	Enjoy	Laugh	Reply	Write
Bury	Establish	Learn	Retire	Yell
Buy	Estimate	Leave	Rub
Call	Exercise	Lend	See

ENGLISH EXERCISE ON VERBS

CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER FROM THE FOUR OPTIONS:

1.   I have been ________ since the morning. Play Played Plays Playing     2.   Ravi has been ________ in Mumbai since he was five years old Stayed Staying Stays Stay     3.   Raghav ___________ his work. Have completed Completing Has completed Have complete     4.   I have ___________ his name. Forgot Forget Forgotten Forgets     5.   My parents will be ________ for Canada tomorrow. Leave Leaving Leaves Left     6.   I will be _______ in the park tomorrow. Sing Sang Sung Singing     7.   We ________ not coming over. Is Are Am     8.   Is ___ your teacher? Are He Him     9.   That house _______ ours yet. Am not Is not Are not     10.   ____ this your new car? Is Are Am

 

Participles, Gerunds and Infinitives are called verbals. Verbals are words which are formed from a verb but which function as a different part of speech.

PARTICIPLE

A participle is usually formed by adding –ing or –ed to a verb. It functions as an adjective.

Examples:
The singing bird was the main attraction at the event.
The injured man was waiting for the doctor.

GERUND

A gerund is formed by adding –ing to a verb. It functions as a noun.

Examples:
Swimming is very good for the body.
Smoking is prohibited in the hospital.

INFINITIVE

An infinitive is formed by using the word ‘to’ before the verb in its stem word. It functions as a noun, adjective or adverb.

Examples:
He was made to clean his room.
Shalini loves to talk.

BE
The verb ‘be’ can be used as an auxiliary and a full verb, we can distinguish between the two uses as the auxiliary ‘be’ will always have another main verb coming after it in a sentence. ‘Be’ is an irregular verb with many different forms according to the different tenses. Please refer to the Irregular Verbs list to avoid confusion.
Progressive Tense Use of Be:
In progressive tense sentences made with ‘be’, we always use the ‘-ing’ suffixed version of the main verb.

Tense	Meaning	Use of ‘Be’
Present Progressive	The action which is ongoing	She is baking a cake today.
Past Progressive	An action that was ongoing in the past.	She was baking a cake yesterday.
Present Perfect Progressive	Action that began in the past and is still going on.	She has been baking a cake today.
Past Perfect Progressive	Action that started in past and finished at another time in the past.	She had been baking a cake last night.

Passive Voice Use of Be:
Using passive voice means when we want to put the emphasis on the object, to which the action is being done instead of on the subject or not include the subject at all e.g.  -
The dishes are washed.  - Here the dishes are the object that received the action of washing but no subject is mentioned to show ‘who’ was washing the dishes.

Passive	Use of ‘Be’
Simple Present	The cake is made.
Simple Past	The cake was made.
Present Perfect	The cake has been made.
Past Perfect	The cake had been made.
Future	The cake will be made.

HAVE
The verb ‘have’ can also be used as full verb or a helping verb. The way to differentiate between them is that if ‘have’ is used as an auxiliary verb, then it has to be followed by a main verb as well. The verb ‘have’ is used to make compound tenses in active and passive voices, and also used in the making of negative sentences and questions.  It is an irregular verb that changes form according to tense.
Using ‘Have’ in Compound Tenses:
 When we use ‘have’ in simple tense with an active voice, we use the ‘-ed’ suffixed form of the main verb unless it is an irregular verb. While for progressive tenses we use the ‘-ing’ suffixed form of the main verb.  Have is used for only two compound tenses in the passive voice.

Tense	Meaning	Use of ‘Have’
Present Perfect	Action that happened at unspecified time before now	She has baked a cake.
Past Perfect	Action that happened before another action in the past	She had baked a cake.
Present Perfect Progressive	Action that began in the past and is still going on.	She has been baking a cake.
Past perfect Progressive	Action that started in past and finished at another time in the past.	She had been baking a cake.
Present Perfect (Passive Voice)	Action that happened at unspecified time before now	The cake has been made.
Past Perfect (Passive Voice)	Action that happened before another action in the past	The cake had been made.

Negative Sentences and Questions:
While making negative sentences and questions with ‘have’ as an auxiliary verb, we need to be careful to put ‘have’ before the other verb otherwise ‘have’ becomes the main verb of the sentence.

She does not have a cake.

- In this sentence ‘have’ is the main verb while ‘does not’ becomes the auxiliary verb.

She has not got a cake.

- In this sentence ‘have’ is the helping verb for the main verb which is ‘got’.

 

Has she got cake?

- Here the main verb is ‘got’ and the helping verb is ‘have’ as it comes before the main verb.

Does she have cake?

 - In this sentence the main verb is ‘have’ as it comes after the helping verb ‘does’.

WILL
The verb ‘will’ is the only auxiliary verb that can never be a main verb. It is always used as an auxiliary to make future tenses and negative sentences.  Also, it remains the same throughout every tense and person.
Future Tense Use of ‘Will’:

Tense	Meaning	Use of ‘Will’
Future I	An action promised/assumed in the future.	She will not bake a cake.
Future I I	An action that will be finished in the future.	She will have baked a cake.

Negative Sentences:
In negative sentences, the verb ‘will’ does not change its form when used with ‘not’. But it does form the contraction ‘won’t’ that is equally correct to use depending upon the language and flow of the sentence.
She will not have cake. = She won’t have cake.

- As ‘will’ can only be an auxiliary verb, both the sentences are grammatically correct.

DO
The helping verb ‘do’ can also act as a full verb only in positive sentences. When do is used in a negative sentence, it is an auxiliary verb. The helping verb ‘do’ is also used to make questions for most verbs except other auxiliary verbs and the modal verbs.  Do is an irregular verb that changes its form according to the tense.
Negative Sentences:

Tense	Meaning	Use of ‘Do’
Simple Present	Action taking place now - once or several times or never.	She does not bake cakes.
Simple Past	Action that happened in the past - once/ many times/ never.	She did not bake cakes.

Questions:
When ‘do’ is used to make a sentence, we can only ask the question in the simple tense. For other tenses, we have to use other verbs whether main or auxiliary.

Tense	Meaning	Use of ‘Do’
Simple Present	Action taking place now - once or several times or never.	Does she bake cakes?
Simple Past	Action that happened in the past - once/ many times/ never.	Did she bake a cake?

Places Where ‘Do’ is Not Used:
There are certain instances where the auxiliary verb ‘do’ is not used for negative sentences or questions. The following table tells the different reasons and instances where and why ‘do’ is not used.

Reason	Negative Sentence	Question
The main verb is ‘Be’	There was no cake.	Is there any cake?
There is another Helping Verb	There won’t be any cake.	Will you have some cake?
There is a Modal Verb	She can’t make a cake	Can she make a cake?

 

Stative Verbs

Stative verbs are verbs that describe a state rather than an action. When describing states, they never take the continuous (‘-ing’) form. Here are some examples of stative verbs and instances of their correct and incorrect usage.

STATIVE VERB	CORRECT USAGE	INCORRECT USAGE
Like	I like you.	I am liking you.
Love	I love you.	I am loving you.
Hate	I hate you.	I am hating you
Appear	It appears to be cloudy.	It is appearing to be cloudy.
Believe	I believe in God.	I am  believing in God.
Fit	This shoe fits me.	This shoe is fitting me.
Sound	This song sounds good.	This song is sounding good.
Remember	I remember everything.	I am remembering everything.

 

Modal Verbs

There are 10 modal verbs in the English language:

• Can
• Could
• May
• Might
• Will
• Would
• Must
• Shall
• Should
• Ought to

Uses of Modal Verbs:

1. To indicate that something is probable or possible, or not so. For example:

• It is sunny today; it must be warm outside. = It is sunny today; it is probably warm outside.
• His mobile is not reachable; he may/might/could be travelling by metro. = His mobile is not reachable; it is possible that he is travelling by metro.
• This can’t be our bill. = It is not possible that this is our bill.

2. ‘Can’ and ‘could’ are used to refer to skills and abilities. For example:

• He can cover a hundred metres in under ten seconds.
• My father could see perfectly before the age of fifty.
• I can’t ride a horse.

3. ‘Must’ is used to indicate that something is necessary or of extreme importance, and ‘should’ is used to suggest that something is advisable. For example:

• You must do your homework.
• You mustn’t skip school.
• You should say sorry.
• You shouldn’t smoke.

4. ‘Can’, ‘could’ and ‘may’ are used to ask for, give and withhold permission. For example:

• Can I try my hand at it?
• Could we disperse early today?
• You may not enter the premises.

5. ‘Will’ and ‘would’ are used to refer to habits and inclinations.

• When I was a child, I would often climb trees.
• I will never refuse you anything.
• He would never do such a thing.

These verbs differ from ordinary verbs in 3 respects.

1. When used with the third person singular (he, she), they don’t require the addition of an ‘s’.
2. They can be used to form questions by inverting the structure of the sentence.
3. They can be followed directly by the verb, without the use of ‘to’.

______________________________________________________________________
Source:
http://www.englishleap.com

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs given.

Dear Alice,
This is my second week in London. I (1)_________________(stay) with my fiancee, John, and his
family. They (2)______________(live) in a beautiful detached house near the city centre.Everything is nice here except for one thing. The weather! In England, the weather (3)______________ (be/often) rainy but today it is warm and the sun  (4)_________________(shine). I am writing this letter to you sitting in a park. There are many  children (5)_________________(play) in the park so it's a bit noisy but it's still beautiful. John's parents are very nice people. I hope you meet them soon. John's father is a film director. He (6)_________________ (begin) his tenth film, which is about aliens, last week. He (7)_________________ (work/still) on it. John's mother was a nurse but now she's at home all the time. She (8)_________________ (stop) working because she has some health problems. She (9)_________________ (go)to the hospital any more.
John is happy to be here. You can easily see that. He was 65 kilos a month ago but now he's 70 . He
(10)_________________(put) on five kilos, I think, because of his mother's meals. He is also excited about his new job at university. He (11)_________________ (give) up his job in high school last week to get this job. John and I are very busy with the wedding preparations so I (12)_______________(see) many places yet. We only (13)_________________(visit) the National Art Gallery two days ago because there was an exhibition there. Tomorrow we are going horse riding. I (14)_______________
(never/ ride)  a horse in my life so I'm really excited about it. I hope I have a chance to see more of
London before we get married.
See you soon,
Diana

---

English Grammar

Parts of Speech

What can be more important about grammar than parts of speech? Without knowing the parts of speech, there's no way for everyone to get on the same page when it comes to grammar.
Noun: Person, place, or thing. Man, dog, college, and orangutan are all nouns.
Verb: Any action or anything being done. Kick, jump, study, and swing are all verbs.
Helping Verb: Verbs like have, do, and be that help indicate the tenses of main verbs. In a sentence like "I have done my homework," "have" helps "done" show its tense.
Conjunction: Words that help combine sections of sentences and join separate elements. In the following sentence, "and" is a coordinating conjunction connecting two complete clauses.
"The orangutan attacked the dog and I saved it."
Adjective: Words that describe nouns. "Tall" and "black" are the adjectives in this sentence: The tall man walked the black dog.
Adverb: Words that describe verbs or when and how things are done, often ending in "ly."
Examples:
The lazy man walked slowly.
The orangutan swiftly kicked the dog.
The dog went to bed early.
Pronoun: A word used in place of a noun. It, he, and they are all pronouns.
Examples:
It kicked the dog.
I saved it.
They were animals.
I am a lazy man.

Sentence Structure/Syntax

Clauses: An independent clause contains all of the grammatical elements necessary to make its own sentence but is a complete idea within a sentence. In "The orangutan kicked the dog, but I saved it," a comma and a coordinating conjunction separate the independent clauses. Each independent clause usually contains a subject, a verb, and an object.
A subordinate clause is a clause patterned the same way as an independent clause but functions within sentences as adjectives, adverbs, or nouns.
Examples:
Adjective Clause
An adjective clause is a clause that behaves like an adjective, describing a noun.
Example:
The orangutan that kicked the dog escaped.
Adverbial Clause
An adverbial clause is a clause that behaves like an adverb, describing an action or verb.
Example:
When the sky was dark, the orangutan crept away.
Noun Clause
A noun clause is a clause that behaves like a noun.
Whoever meets that orangutan will be a sorry fellow.
Parallelism: When ideas are closely linked in the mind of the writer, they are easier to grasp by the mind of the reader when presented in parallel grammatical form.
Examples:
The orangutan is not your friend, the orangutan is not kind, and the orangutan is not to be trusted."
When training a dog, be careful; when training an orangutan, be doggedly careful.

Types of Sentences

There are many different types of sentences, and they take some time to remember, but they're important to get down.
Simple Sentence: An independent clause with no subordinate clauses.
Example:
I like dogs.
Compound Sentence: Two or more independent clauses with no subordinate clauses.
Example:
I like dogs, but I don't like orangutans.
Complex Sentence: One independent clause with one or more subordinate clauses.
Example:
When it's dark outside, I'm afraid of orangutans.
Compound-Complex Sentences: At least two independent clauses and at least one subordinate clause.
Example:
Orangutans that have been trained not to kick dogs are all right, but I still don't like them.

Commas

Commas can be tough well into adulthood, but if you can get three main rules down, you'll do pretty well in and out of the 10th grade:

• Commas come before coordinating conjunctions.

If you have two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction, you always need a comma.
Examples:
The orangutan is evil, but the dog is good.
The orangutan is red, and the dog is black.

• Commas come after any introductory phrase.

Sometimes sentences require introductions. The introductions come before the subject, before the independent clause starts.
Examples:
Under the cover of darkness in the middle of the night, the orangutan waits.
Aware of the orangutan's presence, the dog is wary.

• Commas come between all items in a series.

This comma is called the serial or oxford comma; it acts as a spacer between units.
Examples:
Orangutans are clever, resourceful, and stealthy.
Dogs like fire hydrants, bouncy balls, and treats.
McCartney and Lennon, Simon and Garfunkle, and Slash and Axl are the greatest musical duos of all time.

Main Goal of 10th Grade Grammar

Every 10th grade class is bound to be slightly different, but the main idea is to lay a foundation of grammatical elements onto which students can begin to build a repertoire of rhetorical devices.
In the coming years, they will learn how to think critically about issues and topics and to argue positions in an organized way. The hope is to make them more able to present their ideas and to interpret accurately the ideas of others. They are entering adulthood and need all the help they can get.
Language use is one of the major factors by which adults and children are differentiated. 10th grade grammar is kind of a rite of passage.

Source:
http://education.yourdictionary.com