Basic Grammar Rules

A sentence has two parts: the subject and the predicate. The subject is what the
sentence is about, and the predicate is a comment about the subject. The
predicate is the part of a sentence (or clause) that tells us what the subject does
or is.
There are four main problems that prevent people from writing complete,
grammatically correct sentences. These problems include: (a) the sentence
fragment; (b) the run-on sentence; (c) lack of subject-verb and pronoun-
reference agreement; and (d) lack of parallel structure.
Sentence Fragments
A fragment is a sentence which is not complete, and therefore not grammatically
correct. Sentence fragments are problematic because they are disjointed and
confusing to the reader. There are three main causes of fragments:
(a) a missing subject;
(b) a missing verb;
(c) "danger" words which are not finished.
The Subject and the Verb are the minimum requirements for constructing a basic
English clause (with the exception of directives like sit! and go!)
Subject:
In grammar, we use the word 'subject' to talk about the pronoun, noun or noun
phrase that does the action of verb.
Object:
In grammar, we use the word 'object' to talk about the thing or person that the
verb is done to, or who receives the verb. It can be a noun, a noun phrase, a
pronoun or a longer complex object, which is modified (in a similar way to a
complex subject).
Only a transitive verb can have an object. An intransitive verb never has an
object.
Apart from the two main clause elements, Subject and Verb, there are three
others which may or may not appear in the clause. These are the Object, the
Complement and the Adverbial.
The agency considered Harry indispensable for most jobs.
In the given sentence, ‘the agency’ is the Subject and ‘considered’ is the Verb. The
remaining elements are: Object – Harry, Complement – indispensable, Adverbial
– for most jobs.
Complement
In grammar, a complement is a word, phrase or clause that is necessary to
complete the sense of a subject, an object, or a verb. Complements are often also
arguments (expressions that help complete the meaning of a predicate).
The Complement can often be confused with the Object. While the Subject and
Object of a clause, in the vast majority of cases, refer to different entities, the
Complement gives more information about either the Subject or the Object.
The terms subject complement and object complement are employed to denote
the predicative expressions (such as predicative adjectives and nominals) that
serve to assign a property to a subject or an object.
Subject Complement
A subject complement follows a linking verb; it is normally an adjective or a noun
that renames or defines in some way the subject. Adjective complements are also
called predicate adjectives; noun complements are also called predicate nouns or
predicate nominatives.
E.g.
1) Shankar is a gifted athlete.
Shankar = subject; is = linking verb; athlete = noun as subject complement.
The linking verb is ‘looks’. The subject complement describes the subject ‘That
pie’ which is an adjective.
2) A good book and a hammock is all the entertainment I need.
In this sentence, entertainment is a subject complement, but it could easily be
confused with the real subject, which is a good book and a hammock. The verb
needs to be plural to agree with the subject, not singular to agree with the
complement. So, the correct statement will be:
A good book and a hammock are all the entertainment I need.
Note: A linking verb is used to re-identify or describe its subject. A linking verb
connects the subject of a sentence to the predicate without expressing an action.
Some of the most common linking verbs are to be (In all its forms, e.g., am, is, are,
was, were, will be, was being, has been.), to appear, to become, to feel, to look, to
seem, to smell, to sound, to taste etc.
Object Complement
An object complement is a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective which follows a
direct object to rename it or state what it has become (modifies or refers to a
direct object). It completes or adds to the meaning of the direct object.
1) They elected Martin.
While this sentence has a subject, a verb and an object, it does not make complete
sense. We understand that Martin has been elected, but we don’t know what
position he occupies. In this case, we need a word or phrase to complete the
meaning of the object.
They elected Martin their president.
Here the noun ‘their president’ acts as the object complement.
2) My reply made my father angry.
(Subject – my reply; verb – made; object – my father; object complement – angry)
Note: The direct object of a verb is the thing being acted upon (i.e., the receiver of
the action). A trick to find the direct object is to find the verb and ask the
question, ‘what or whom?’.
E.g.
1) She thought that the contract had ended.
(Find the verb = thought; Ask What? = that the contract had ended. Therefore, the
direct object is that the contract had ended.)
Object of a preposition
The object of a preposition is the noun or pronoun governed by a preposition. In
other words, a preposition is always followed by a noun (or pronoun) called the
Object of the preposition. The object of a preposition is usually (but not always)
the noun or pronoun immediately to the right of the preposition. The noun or
pronoun governed by a preposition is always in the objective case.
E.g.
1) This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. - (Neil
Armstrong)
(The word ‘a’ before man is a modifier. The object of a preposition is often
accompanied by modifiers that precede it or follow it.)
2) Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist.
(The words ‘every’ and ‘cynical’ are modifiers.)
3) The writing in those paragraphs are absolutely horrible.
Because ‘paragraphs’ is the last noun before the verb, it's tempting to treat it as
the subject. It’s just the object of a preposition (in). ‘Writing’ is the subject. So, the
correct sentence will be:
The writing in those paragraphs is absolutely horrible.

Parts of Speech
Based on the purpose for which they are used, words are divided into eight
different categories, namely, Nouns, Pronouns, Adjectives, Verbs, Adverbs,
Prepositions, Conjunctions, Interjections.
1. Noun- A noun is a part of speech that identifies a person, place, thing, or idea.
E.G. Rama reached the airport on time.
2. Pronoun- Pronouns are words that are used in place of nouns (people, places,
or things) to avoid sounding unnatural by reusing the same noun in a
sentence multiple times.
E.G. Zoya saw Venkat and ran towards him.
Here, the pronoun ‘him’ takes the place of Venkat.
The other examples of pronouns are I, you, she, her, it, everyone, somebody,
your, hers, theirs, etc.
3. Adjective- Words that qualify or modify a noun is called an adjective.
E. G. The ingredient has a strong smell.
4. Verb- Verbs are used to signify the actions, processes, conditions, or states of
being of people or things.
E.G. We went out for dinner.
5. Adverb- An adverb is a word used to modify a verb, an adjective, another
adverb or an entire clause.
E. G. He spoke foolishly at the party.
6. Preposition-A preposition is a word placed before a noun or a pronoun to
indicate some relation between the noun or pronoun and some other word.
Some common prepositions are in, on, for, to, of, with, and about, etc.
7. Conjunction- Conjunctions are joining words. They are used to link words
and phrases to one another, one clause to another clause, or one sentence to
another sentence.
E.G. The food was nutritious and appetizing.
Interjection- Interjections are words used to express emotions or some sudden
outburst of feeling.
E.G. The protagonist, alas! Would die in the end of the movie.
Degrees of Comparison
Degrees of Comparison are used when we compare one person or one thing with
another.
In English, there are three degrees of comparison:
1) The Positive Degree. (This offers no comparison.)
E.g. rich, pretty, handsome, good.
2) The Comparative Degree (This shows the greater or lesser degree.)
E.g. richer, prettier, more handsome, better.
3) The Superlative Degree (This shows the greatest or least degree.)
E.g. richest, prettiest, most handsome, best.
Participles
A participle is a word formed from a verb which can be used as an adjective.
The two types of participles are the present participle (ending ‘-ing’) and the past
participle (usually ending ‘-ed’, ‘-d’, ‘-t’, ‘-en’, or ‘-n’).
Gerunds
A gerund is a verbal that ends in -ing and functions as a noun. The term verbal
indicates that a gerund, like the other two kinds of verbals, is based on a verb and
therefore expresses action or a state of being. However, since a gerund functions
as a noun, it occupies some positions in a sentence that a noun ordinarily would.
Infinitives
The infinitive is the base form of a verb with to. Usually it functions as a noun,
although it can also function as an adjective or adverb.
Subject Verb Agreement (a Verb must agree with its Subject in Number and
Person)
Subject verb agreement simply means the subject and verb must agree in
number. This means both need to be singular or both need to be plural. E.g.
1) If the subject is singular, the verb must be singular too.
E.g. She writes every day.
2) If the subject is plural, the verb must also be plural.
E.g. They write every day.
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
The pronoun must agree with its antecedent in three ways:
1) Person refers to the quality of being.
E.g. If a person (3rd Person) wants to succeed in corporate life, he or she has to
know the rules of the game.
2) Number is the quality that distinguishes between singular (one entity) and
plural (numerous entities).
E.g. If anybody (third person singular) wants to succeed in corporate life, he or
she has to know the rules of the game.
3) Gender is the quality that distinguishes the entities as masculine or feminine.
E.g. If a man wants to succeed in corporate life, he has to know the rules of the
game.

Parallelism
Parallelism, also known as parallel structure or parallel construction, is a balance
within one or more sentences of similar phrases or clauses that have the same
grammatical structure. It is the use of components in a sentence that are
grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning, or
meter.
E.g. The political leader said, “The present government has ruined the economy;
it has ruined the education system; and it has ruined the health system of our
country.”
Conditionals
Conditionals describe the result of something that might happen (in the present
or future) or might have happened but didn't (in the past) . They are made using
different English verb tenses.
There are four main kinds of conditionals:
1) The Zero Conditional:
(if + present simple, ... present simple)
E.g. If you heat water to 100 degrees, it boils.
2) The First Conditional:
(if + present simple, ... will + infinitive)
E.g. If it rains tomorrow, we'll go to the cinema.
3) The Second Conditional:
(if + past simple, ... would + infinitive)
E.g. If I had a lot of money, I would travel around the world.
4) The Third Conditional
(if + past perfect, ... would + have + past participle)
E.g. If I had gone to bed early, I would have caught the train.