English Grammar
Write Better. Right Now!
Learn about English Grammar and How to Write Better!

Business Writing Software - Business Writing Books - FREEBIES - Websites - Dissertation Writing
Lousy Writer . com

WELCOME
> What's New?
> Articles
> Podcasts
> Grammar BLOG
> Grammar NEWS
> Grammar HELP
> Freelance Writing JOBS
> FREEBIES
> Business Writing Books
> Business Writing Software
HOW TO WRITE BETTER
> Ad Copy
> Blog Copy
> Resume
> Sales Letter
WRITING STYLES
> APA Style
> MLA Style
> Chicago Style
GRAMMAR ( What is? )
> The English Grammar
> Plain English Style
GRAMMAR MISTAKES
> Attraction
> ALONE (usage)
> AND relative
> Broken Construction
ADJECTIVES ( What is? )
> Descriptive Adjectives
> Adjectives of Quantity
> Demonstrative Adjectives
> Pronominal Adjectives
ADVERBS ( What is? )
> According to Meaning
> According to Use
> Comparison of Adverbs
ARTICLES ( What is? )
> Definite Article
> Indefinite Article
CONJUNCTIONS ( What is? )
> Coordinate Conjunctions
> Subordinate Conjunctions
> Special Uses of
NOUNS ( What is? )
> Abstract Nouns
> Case Nouns
> Collective Nouns
> Common Nouns
PREPOSITIONS ( What is? )
> Classes
> Phrases
> Uses
PRONOUNS ( What is? )
> Adjective Pronouns
> Indefinite Pronouns
> Interrogative Pronouns
> Personal Pronouns
> Relative Pronouns
PUNCTUATION ( What is? )
> Apostrophe
> Colon
> Comma
> Dash
STORYTELLING
> Allegory
> Antithesis
> Apostrophe
> Climax
SYNTAX ( What is? )
> Adjectives
> Adverbs
> Articles
> Conjunctions
VERBALS ( What is? )
> Gerunds
> Infinitives
> Conjunctions
> Discourse
VERBS ( What is? )
> Active Voice
> Passive Voice
> Conjugation
> Mood
LANGUAGE
> Letters
> Vowels
> Consonants

LousyWriter.com
> Other Websites
> Site Map
> About Us
> Contact Us


Whitesmoke English Grammar Software

GRAMMAR > What is Grammar? > The English Grammar > Plain English
Bookmark or Share this Page! | Print this Page

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN A NUTSHELL

All the words in the English language are divided into nine great classes. These classes are called the Parts of Speech. They are Article, Noun, Adjective, Pronoun, Verb, Adverb, Preposition, Conjunction and Interjection.

Of these, the Noun is the most important, as all the others are more or less dependent upon it. A Noun signifies the name of any person, place or thing, in fact, anything of which we can have either thought or idea.

There are two kinds of Nouns, Proper and Common. Common Nouns are names which belong in common to a race or class, as man, city. Proper Nouns distinguish individual members of a race or class as John, Philadelphia. In the former case man is a name which belongs in common to the whole race of mankind, and city is also a name which is common to all large centres of population, but John signifies a particular individual of the race, while Philadelphia denotes a particular one from among the cities of the world.

Nouns are varied by Person, Number, Gender, and Case. Person is that relation existing between the speaker, those addressed and the subject under consideration, whether by discourse or correspondence. The Persons are First, Second and Third and they represent respectively the speaker, the person addressed and the person or thing mentioned or under consideration.

Number is the distinction of one from more than one. There are two numbers, singular and plural; the singular denotes one, the plural two or more. The plural is generally formed from the singular by the addition of s or es.

Gender has the same relation to nouns that sex has to individuals, but while there are only two sexes, there are four genders, viz., masculine, feminine, neuter and common. The masculine gender denotes all those of the male kind, the feminine gender all those of the female kind, the neuter gender denotes inanimate things or whatever is without life, and common gender is applied to animate beings, the sex of which for the time being is indeterminable, such as fish, mouse, bird, etc. Sometimes things which are without life as we conceive it and which, properly speaking, belong to the neuter gender, are, by a figure of speech called Personification, changed into either the masculine or feminine gender, as, for instance, we say of the sun, He is rising; of the moon, She is setting.

Case is the relation one noun bears to another or to a verb or to a preposition. There are three cases, the Nominative, the Possessive and the Objective. The nominative is the subject of which we are speaking or the agent which directs the action of the verb; the possessive case denotes possession, while the objective indicates the person or thing which is affected by the action of the verb.

An Article is a word placed before a noun to show whether the latter is used in a particular or general sense. There are but two articles, a or an and the.

An Adjective is a word which qualifies a noun, that is, which shows some distinguishing mark or characteristic belonging to the noun.

DEFINITIONS

A Pronoun is a word used for or instead of a noun to keep us from repeating the same noun too often. Pronouns, like nouns, have case, number, gender and person. There are three kinds of pronouns, personal, relative and adjective.

A verb is a word which signifies action or the doing of something. A verb is inflected by tense and mood and by number and person, though the latter two belong strictly to the subject of the verb.

An adverb is a word which modifies a verb, an adjective and sometimes another adverb.

A preposition serves to connect words and to show the relation between the objects which the words express.

A conjunction is a word which joins words, phrases, clauses and sentences together.

An interjection is a word which expresses surprise or some sudden emotion of the mind.


GRAMMAR > What is Grammar? > The English Grammar > Plain English
Bookmark or Share this Page! | Print this Page



( FREE E-BOOK )
The Lousy Writer's Guide to Writing Persuasively
Free e-book: The Lousy Writer's Guide to Writing Persuasively
( DOWNLOAD NOW! )
( Sponsor Ads )
English Grammar Checker - Fix and Enrich text in a few steps with WhiteSmoke's grammar software. Free trial.
StyleWriter - the world's largest style and usage checker, makes it easy to write error-free, plain English copy.
Electronic Writing Course - (on CD for Windows) teaches you how to become a good writer and edit like a pro.
Write Your Papers in APA Style - StyleEase formats your papers and references in APA Style. MLA style and Chicago style also available.
Creative Writing Software - Discounted creative writing software for writers, novelists, and storytellers.
Readability Formulas ~ Find the reading levels of your materials with these popular reading assessment formulas.
Book Formatting Software - Wizards For Word helps format your papers in APA Style, Chicago Manual of Style, MLA Style, and Writer's Market Style.
Screenwriting Software - Discounted screenwriting software for screenwriters, novelists, and storytellers.
English Grammar Software - find, correct, and fix embarrassing grammar mistakes.


Find Freelance Jobs
  www.LousyWriter.com   We offer free grammar lessons and free writing lessons!