Jump to content

Myr

Site Administrator
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    13,450

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by Myr

  3. Myr

    Grammar Guide 9 - Prepositions

    By Myr,


    Grammar Guide
    Welcome to our ninth week examining Grammar.  This week, we are hopping on Prepositions.
    Preposition - connects a noun or pronoun to another word in the sentence to show the relationship between the two.  It often indicates position such as: above, below, over, under, or beneath.

    Joey went up the stairs. ( up connects went and stairs) = verb and noun connected
    Sally sat in the corner. (in connects Sally and corner) = two nouns connected
    Ending Sentences with a Preposition
    Most of us had this grammar rule smacked into our faces when we were children.  It is more frowned upon in formal writing, but it is still allowed.  More importantly for story writers, dialog often has sentences ending in prepositions.  For example: "Whom are you talking about?" or "Don't look so put upon!"

     
    Not Always What they Appear
    Some prepositional words can be used in other parts of grammar.  The word alone does not a preposition make.
    For example.  The pirate flag went up the pole.  (Up is a preposition here connecting went and pole)
    The pirate flag was up.  (Up is an adjective here modifying flag)
    Some Prepositions
    There are many prepositions.  Here are a few:
    Above, below, up, down, among, as, at, away, between, over, under, through, next, inside, outside, around, onto, unto, via, within, without, and aside.
    References: Kern, Jara. (2020). The Infographic Guide to Grammar. Adams Media Venolia, Jan. (2001). Write Right! (4th ed.). Ten Speed Press
  12. Myr

    Grammar Guide 8 - Regular vs Irregular Verbs

    By Myr,


    Grammar Guide
    This week we are back to where the action is... verbs!  English is the Rube Goldberg Machine of languages and it has a lot of oddities.  One of those is this whole concept of regular vs irregular and verb forms.

    This also ties in with Grammar Guide 6's topic of Verb Tenses.  Be sure to check that out as well, if you missed it.
    Verbs have 5 Forms:
    Infinitive - the basic form of the verb ➡️ walk Simple Present - Used when the action is happening right now or or happens regularly ➡️ walk Simple Past - Used to discuss actions that happened in the past or existed before now ➡️ walked Present Participle - used in forming continuous tenses, typically by adding -ing ➡️walking Past Participle -  used in forming perfect and passive tenses and sometimes as an adjective ➡️ walked Regular Verbs
    For a regular verb, you form a simple past or past participle by adding -ed to the infinitive form of the verb.
    Example: walk ➡️ walked
    Irregular Verbs
    For an irregular verb, you often change words
    Example: do ➡️did, done
    There are over 200 irregular verbs in the English language.  Unfortunately, they are some of our most common words and the only thing you can do is memorize them. Here are a few:

    There are a lot more, post some below that aren't on the list!
    References: Kern, Jara. (2020). The Infographic Guide to Grammar. Adams Media Venolia, Jan. (2001). Write Right! (4th ed.). Ten Speed Press  
  25. Myr

    Grammar Guide 6 - Verb Tenses

    By Myr,


    Grammar Guide
    Welcome to the next topic in our fun Grammar Guide series.
    This week are are hopping into the fun world of English Verb Tenses.  English has three basic verb tenses:
    Past - actions that occurred in the past Present - actions that are occurring at the moment Future - actions that will occur in the future. In English, these 3 basic verb tenses each have 4 aspects and this means, (if you're keeping up with the math), 12 verb tenses.
    Simple - actions that are usual or repeated Progressive - actions that are ongoing Perfect - actions that are completed Perfect Progressive - actions that will be completed at a definitive time
    Examples:
    Past Simple - I walked to the library Progressive - I was walking to the library Perfect - I had walked to the library Perfect Progressive - I had been walking to the library. Present Simple - I walk to the library. Progressive - I am walking to the library. Perfect - I have walked to the library. Prefect Progressive - I have been walking to the library. Future Simple - I will walk to the library. Progressive - I will be walking to the library. Perfect - I will have walked to the library. Perfect Progressive - I will have been walking to the library.
    Important Take Away
    In English, only two verb tenses can be formed from the verb by itself: past and present.  All other tenses require a form of have, will, or be as a helping or auxiliary verb.
    Cool Tip from the Infographic Guide to Grammar -
    Test your verb tenses by starting your intended sentence with Yesterday, Today, or Tomorrow, to check your past, present, and future tenses respectively.
    "Today, I walk to the library." "Yesterday, I walked to the library." "Tomorrow, I will walk to the library"
    References: Kern, Jara. (2020). The Infographic Guide to Grammar. Adams Media Venolia, Jan. (2001). Write Right! (4th ed.). Ten Speed Press
×
×
  • Create New...