Sometimes we Grammarians speak a language all our own. Here is a quick translation for the most common terms:
noun: person, place or thing (sister, Sydney, plane)
verb: an action word (flew, visited, toured)
pronoun: a replacement for a noun (he, she, it)
adjective: a word that describes a noun (blond, hot, stuffy)
adverb: a word that describes a verb (quickly, happily, intently)
preposition: a word that shows the link between two words (to, toward, against)
conjunction: a word that joins words or ideas (and, but, or)
article: three specific adjectives. Also the most commonly used adjectives. (ONLY: a, an, the)
If this article has helped you, or if you have other questions about this topic, please let me know. Thanks!
August 5, 2008 at 7:26 am
LOL! I actually had a graduating English major raise his li’l paw in an editing class one night while I was holding forth about how to tighten copy and ask, “What’s a preposition?” They don’t teach event the most basic grammar in schools any more–it’s considered too confusing for the kiddies.
When one of my colleagues established a course called “Grammar for Writers and Teachers,” the dean of the College of Education actually called her and asked her to not to teach grammar to education majors!
August 5, 2008 at 8:43 am
It is sad. If you ask any average college student, they’d say they hate English. Why? Because it’s hard to understand, hard to remember. To those of us who love the language, it’s a crying shame.
That’s part of why I started this. I want to help the students who hate English. Maybe I won’t change their feelings, but I can help them understand the basics.