Music swells Siblings squabble Owls hoot I am Grammar is And just like that two words can become a SENTENCE The information in a short sentence can be expanded by adding more words that give vivid descriptions or specific reactions Where should those words be placed How does a writer know what PUNCTUATION to use What does all of that mean anyway Words fall into place more easily when one has an understanding of grammar a system of rules that gives writers the foundation for producing acceptable formal expression It is that acceptable form that appropri ate grammar which helps readers comprehend what has been written Basic sentences have a subject someone or something and a PREDICATE or verb action or state of being Within sentences are groups of words called phrases and clauses A phrase is a group of related words without subject and verb that acts like one PART OF SPEECH such as the phrase in the meantime which acts like an adverb or a word that describes a verb or the expression spill the beans phrasal verb or the description hovering in the branches adjective How are the words related Al though each word is still its own part of speech the group functions as a unit 4
Clauses are different from phrases in that they have a subject and a verb A sen tence may have one clause or several but the minimum requirement is one since all clauses and all sentences need to have at least one group of words with a subject and a verb When a clause can stand by itself and make sense it’s called in dependent When it cannot exist on its own it’s called dependent and often needs the help of a connecting word a conjunction to attach it to a MAIN CLAUSE Conjunctions can coordinate SUBORDINATE and CORRELATE but whatever they do they always make phrases and clauses communicate within and between sentences Without all three parts phrases additional clauses and conjunctions our sentences would all have the same stark structure one clause of one subject and one verb Adding other words gives writers a way to increase variety in their work and bring sentences to life 5
FLAWLESS PHRASES O ne of the most common types of phrases is the prepositional phrase In it a preposition with its noun or pronoun OBJECT relates to another word in the sentence as in this example with the common prepositions from and for This is from me for you The rules of grammar state that a preposition should appear right next to its object as with the previous objects me and you and that a sentence should never end with a preposition But sometimes it’s acceptable to bend the rules in order to make 6
PREPOSITIONS about along at beside by during from like onto per above amid before besides across among behind between concerning considering except in near opposite regarding excepting in front of of outside since throughout to together with under upon underneath via unlike with TABLE 1 after around below beyond despite excluding inside off over than toward until within against as beneath but meaning except down for into on past through towards up without the sentence sound more like natural speech Here’s an example She’s not the person I talked with Although we’re ending a sentence with a preposition it is less formal and easier to understand than this She’s not the person with whom I talked Likewise saying Where did that come from instead of From where did that come fits better for a review of commonly used prepositions Prepositional phrases have many functions within sentences but their most important job is building relationships between words One way to identify a prepositional phrase is to find the sentence’s subject and verb and then see what’s left In The Indian in the Cupboard 1980 by British author Lynne Banks 1929 into a conversation It is never permissible Omri the main character encounters and however to end a sentence with an unnecessary preposition Where is he at or Where did she go to Before we go on see Table 1 above attempts to conceal from his family toys that come alive Find the 15 prepositional phrases in the short excerpt on the following page 7
