One of the most important steps in becoming a better writer is brushing up on basic grammar rules. That’s not to say that your favorite novelists or inspirational writers are perfect grammarians. However, to write with style and flair, one must understand the rules in order to bend them. For some of us, it’s likely been decades since our earliest grammar classes. Let’s take a trip back to these lessons and relearn some we might have forgotten existed. From ordering subjects and verbs to deciding how to show possession, you naturally use these grammar rules in everyday speech.
Every Sentence Must Have a Subject and a Verb
Students are taught that every sentence needs a subject and a verb in order to make sense, but an object is not necessarily needed.
Subject-verb sentence: Ben laughed.
Subject-verb-object sentence: Ben laughed at the TV.
Both sentences make sense, but adding an object (“the TV”) provides additional context.
Subject-object sentence: Ben at the TV.
This is an incorrect and incomplete sentence without the verb “laughed.” We would never use a “subject-object” sentence because it doesn’t mean anything.
Parts of Sentences Have a Specific Order
Just as a sentence must have a subject and a verb (and possibly an object), these parts must go in a specific order. We don’t really think of what order to put them in — it just rolls off the tongue — but there are specific grammar rules for this.
Positive sentence: It affirms a proposition. These sentences usually follow the order of “subject + verb + object.”
Correct: Mary rode the bus.
Incorrect: Rode Mary the bus.
Negative sentence: It states that something is untrue or incorrect by using a negative word. These sentences usually follow the order of “subject + auxiliary verb + ‘not’ + main verb + object.”
Correct: Mary did not ride the bus.
Incorrect: Mary ride the bus did not.
Parts of Questions Have a Specific Order
Just as a specific order is required for sentences, the same holds true for questions.
The present simple question form is one of the most basic ways to ask a question in English. These questions usually follow the order of “question word + auxiliary verb + subject + infinitive.”
Correct: What does Mary ride to school?
Incorrect: What Mary does ride to school?
The yes/no question is another basic way to ask a question, but it doesn’t include a “question word.” These questions usually follow the order of “auxiliary verb + subject + infinitive.”
Correct: Does Mary ride the bus?
Incorrect: Mary ride the bus does?
The Animacy Hierarchy for Nouns — How to Show Possession
This sounds complicated, but young children have mastered it. There are two ways to show possession in English: by using an apostrophe with an “s” or by using “of.”
Example: That is Sally’s bike.
Example: The final hour of the lecture dragged on.
Notice how swapping the form of possession in these sentences makes them sound unusual:
That is the bike of Sally.
The lecture’s final hour dragged on.
The animacy hierarchy states that in English, we tend to use the apostrophe + “s” possessive for humans and animals, and “of” for inanimate objects.
Correct: My dog’s collar fell off.
Incorrect: The collar of my dog fell off.
Correct: The color of the sweater faded.
Incorrect: The sweater’s color faded.
Of course, there is a gray area. Some people might prefer the latter option of “The sweater’s color faded.” It’s not exactly incorrect, but it’s nonstandard. Linguists have narrowed down the speaker’s decision to their identification or empathy with the entity, or to what extent they treat it as an animate object.
Notice the difference in sentences in relation to the speaker’s feelings toward the sweater. “My favorite sweater’s color faded” sounds more natural than “The boy’s sweater’s color faded.” We would probably say: “The color of the boy’s sweater faded.” We adhere to this flow naturally, so it might not feel like a true grammar rule, but it is.
Featured image credit: MundusImages/ iStock