From the Book>> English Grammar Demystified by Phyllis Pudwin

Let's learn English my way and I'm going to share with you my secrets to writing and speaking better English. Recently I've discovered a few good books on English grammar and I've decided to share them with you guys. Let's go through chapter by chapter on this first book that i chose.


PART ONE : ALL ABOUT ENGLISH SENTENCE.

CHAPTER ONE : The Essential Elements of the English Sentence.

In this chapter,you will learn :

• Subject and Verb
• Sentence Fragments and Run-Ons
• Time and Number : Agreement Between Subject and Verb 
• Perfect Verb Tenses
• Irregular Verbs

Subject and Verb

Although it would not be very interesting, the simplest English sentence might be composed of two words and still be correct : 

                   I voted

                   Tom drove

                   Trees fell

The point, of course, is that a complete English sentence is composed of a subject ( I,Tom,Trees ) and a verb, or action (voted,drove,fell ). 

See if you can identify the subjects ( person or thing ) and verbs ( actions ) :

1. The senator won.

2. Tom crashed the car.

3. His wife screamed.

4. Arctic air froze New England.

5. We huddled together.

You probably chose the following : senator/won, Tom/crashed, wife/screamed, air/froze, We/huddled. In each case, someone or something performed an action.Now, read the following examples, and as you do, ask yourself what's missing : what else do you need to knw to get real meaning from the incomplete sentence?

1. A wandering child.

2. Driving too slowly and stopping frequently.

3. Stormy, then clear.

Undoubtedly, in the first example, you wanted to know what happened to the child. What did he or she do? In the second example, who was driving and stopping? In the third example, what was stormy, then clear? Clearly, something is missing in each example. You weren't satisfied when you read the examples because they are all incomplete thoughts missing essential elements : subject (i.e.,person,place or thing) or a verb (i.e.,the action). Because of the missing pieces, this kind of incomplete sentence is called a fragment, a piece of a thought. The following examples include possible completions for the previous fragments. Notice that either a subject or verb was added to each one.

1. 1. A wandering child ran into the street. ( The verb ran answers the question,"What did the child do?").
2. 2. The new driver was driving too slowly and stopping frequently. ( The subject, driver, answers the question,"Who was driving?").
3. The skies changed from stormy to clear. ( The subject, skies, answers the question,"What changed from stormy to clear?").

Sentence Fragments and Run-Ons


You just read examples of incomplete sentences (e.g., A wandering child.). Because the examples represent only parts of complete thoughts, they're called fragments. If, on the other hand, you were to string together sentence after sentence-with no periods or semicolon in sight-you would be committing another type of error called a run-on sentence.

1. Sentence Fragments

    Fragments sometimes result when writers start sentences with words such as when, after,because, since, before, and as soon as possible. For example, does the following group of words have a subject and a verb? Is it a complete sentence?

        When the new product arrives.

The example has a subjectlike word, product, and a verblike word, arrives, and it is still not a complete sentence.
If you say it out loud, you will hear that it is unfinished :

       When the new product arrives...

Then,what will happen? Possible completions include the following :

      When the new product arrives,we'll call our advertisers.
      When the new product arrives, we'll send a special introductory offer to our best customers.
      When the new product arrives, we'll have to stay late to pact it for shipping.

Groups of words may seem to be sentences because they contain subject and verbtype words, but beware of incomplete thoughts! In the initial example (When the new product arrives.), product seems to be the subject and arrives seems to be the verb, yet the example is still an incomplete thought.
As you need the following examples, decide if each has the subject and verb it needs. :

1. Looking at the job market from a new perspective. ( Hint: Beware of sentences that start with -ing ending words.)
2. My friend who teaches a wellness course.
3. Heading for the West Coast for a five-day vacation.
4. Your doctor's appointment scheduled for Tuesday.
5. When the man waiting to see you.

Let's take a look at what's missing. In the first example, who is looking at he job market? The subject is missing. The second example is tricky. My friend is the subject. The words who teaches a wellness course describe the friend. Still there is no verb. What does your friend do?

Try this : 

      My friend who teaches a wellness course drives 100 miles a day to get to her class. The verb is drives. In the third example, who was heading for the West Coast?

The subject is missing. In the fourth example, the verb is missing. The fifth example needs an action to complete it.