Grammar

Definition
►s the set of structural rules that govern the
composition of sentences, phrases, and
words in any given natural language
 What is Clause
►  isa pair or group of words that consists of
a subject and a predicate, although in
some languages and some types of clauses
the subject may not appear explicitly as
a noun phrase.
 What is Sentence
► isan expression in natural language, and
often defined to indicate a grammatical unit
consisting of one or more words that
generally bear minimal syntactic relation to
the words that precede or follow it
 Sentence by Structure
► A simple sentence consists of a single independent
clause with no dependent clauses.
► A compound sentence consists of multiple
independent clauses with no dependent clauses.
These clauses are joined together using
conjunctions, punctuation, or both.
► A complex sentence consists of at least one
independent clause and one dependent clause.
► A complex-compound sentence (or compound-
complex sentence) consists of multiple
independent clauses, at least one of which has at
least one dependent clause.
 Sentence by Purpose
► A declarative sentence or declaration, the most common
type, commonly makes a statement: I am going home.
► An interrogative sentence or question is commonly used to
request information — When are you going to work? — but
sometimes not;see rhetorical question.
► An exclamative sentence or exclamation is generally a
more emphatic form of statement expressing
emotion: What a wonderful day this is!
► An imperative sentence or command tells someone to do
something: "Go to work at 7:30 in the morning".
 Types of Clause
► Main Clauses
► Subordinate Clauses
► Relative Clauses
► Noun Clauses
 Main Clause ( independent )
► Every main clause will follow this pattern:
subject + verb = complete thought.
Here are some examples:
Lazy students whine.
Students = subject; whine = verb.

The important point to remember is that every

sentence must have at least one main clause.
Otherwise, you have a fragment, a major error.
Subordinate Clause (dependent)
► A subordinate clause will follow this pattern:
subordinate
conjunction + subject + verb =incomplete
thought.

Here are some examples:

Whenever lazy students whine
Whenever = subordinate conjunction; students =
subject; whine = verb.
► The important point to remember about
subordinate clauses is that they
can never stand alone as complete
sentences. To complete the thought, you
must attach each subordinate clause to a
main clause. Generally, the punctuation
looks like this:
► main clause + Ø + subordinate clause.
► subordinate clause + , + main clause.
► Example:
► Whenever lazy students whine, Mrs.
Russell throws chalk erasers at their heads.
► Anthony ran for the paper towels as cola
spilled over the glass and splashed
onto the counter.
 Relative Clause (adjective)
► A relative clause will begin with a relative
pronoun [such as who, whom, whose, which,
or that] or a relative adverb [when, where,
or why]. The patterns look like these:

relative pronoun or
adverb + subject +verb = incomplete thought.
relative pronoun as subject + verb =incomplete
thought.

Here are some examples:

Whom Mrs. Russell hit in the head with a chalk eraser
Whom = relative pronoun; Mrs. Russell = subject;hit =
verb.
► Like subordinate clauses, relative clauses cannot
stand alone as complete sentences. You must
connect them to main clauses to finish the
thought. Look at these revisions of the relative
clauses above:
► The lazy students whom Mrs. Russell hit in the
head with a chalk eraser soon learned to keep
their complaints to themselves.
► My dog Floyd, who loves pizza crusts, eats
them under the kitchen table, where he chews
and drools with great enthusiasm
 Noun Clause
► Any clause that functions as a noun becomes
a noun clause. Look at this example:
You really do not want to know the
ingredients in Aunt Nancy's stew.
Ingredients = noun.
If we replace the noun ingredients with a clause,
we have anoun clause:
You really do not want to know what Aunt
Nancy adds to her stew.

What Aunt Nancy adds to her stew = noun

clause.