PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

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Daunting, as in fearsome or scary, is learning what you never learned or cared to learn when younger. It became clear to me that simplicity is the best way to learn anything, so I am writing a textbook on how to write English. I will have to study again in order to be accurate, but I will not be asking the reader to do anything I am not willing to do as well. I will attempt to translate difficult explanations into a simpler format to be more easily absorbed. Even English taught as a foreign language texts are difficult to read and learn from because they often cluster information, assuming that you know the terms being used to clarify a definition. They confuse instead. I am starting with the basics and will slowly expand using previously explained grammatical terms and structures to "build" a solid vocabulary as a teaching tool. It is harder than it sounds, taking a grammar text and converting it to English     ~(:D)-

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Using Words In The Right Place

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THE goes before a noun - person, place, thing, or idea.

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Definition From Google:

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Note: The explanation uses "pronoun" & "proper noun" without fully defining them; assuming you know their function in a sentence. 

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Simpler Example: The store was a long way from the home of the school teacher.

The store as a proper noun would name it like this: The Speedway Grocery Store was a long way from the home of the school teacher. The name of the store makes it a proper noun. Examples: The girl (noun) or Mary (proper noun), The country or The United Arab Emirates, the dog or The Cocker Spaniel. Nouns and Proper nouns are easy to remember.

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"Store" as a pronoun (words that replace nouns) would start like this: "It (the store) was a long way from her home."  

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Noun and noun clauses may be introduced with A, An, or THE. These grammatical terms are called ARTICLES. A, and, and the are articles and they each are a part of speech.  A is used in front of nouns that begin with any other letter than the VOWELS: a,e,i,o,u.

STOP: Memorize this part because it is an absolute rule!

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Example: A fire. A rock. A yard.

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AN is used in front of NOUNS beginning with the letters a,e,i,o,u. These are called VOWELS.

STOP: Memorize a e i o u if you don't know the vowels. This is the rule. You can not say "a apple" it is "an apple". 

Example: An elephant. An elipse. An idea, An undergrowth.

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The other letters are called CONSONANTS (words that do not begin with the letters a,e,i,o,u, Note: y words are introduced with the article "a". A yard, a yoke, a year. Ex. A bead, a chimney, a sidewalk.

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Example of the ARTICLE "AN" BEFORE VOWELS: An airplane, an outcome, an introduction, an underline, an example.  Note: A, An, & The are markers that tell you a noun or noun clause is next. That is where the noun goes, after an ARTICLE. (Not always, but mostly - the exceptions in English will cause your hair to fall out).

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Example: Jeans feel good to wear. The jeans feel good to wear. Escape was easy. The escape was easy.

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With a noun clause: The jeans, the soft denim type, feel good to wear. The escape, the shortest way out, was easy. Note: the phrase udnerlined serves as an adjective clause modifying the nouns Jeans and escape.

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I suppose at this point you are asking, why cover the obvious. This is term building. Also, some people missed school that day or did not do the homework for that study night. Or hated English because of the terminolgy and rules not memorized. Or they speak a foreign language and English is a second language.

Example: He fell hard and the knees bled. He bruised an elbow, the one with which he used to hit the volley ball. There was a cut over the left eye, where the blood blurred his vision,which would need stitches. 

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This is simply stated. A clause expands the meaning of a word. "the one with which he used to hit the volley ball" is a clause that explains more about "an elbow". A clause usually follows a comma "," a semi-pause that directs the reader that something extra is about to be added: a list, an expansion on what was just said or named. The examples are adjective clauses (they modify a noun in the above sentence).

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There are adjective clauses and adverbial clauses and a list of grammatical clauses that would make your hair fall out, but I'm keeping it simple. An English Grammar, a text book on the English language, usually clusters too much information in one place and it is confusing. Keep it simple; this is the rule here.

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A, AN, & THE - Are called ARTICLES. Articles are words that usually preceed a noun - person, place, thing, or idea (condition of being - ha!) . Example: A chimpanzee, an exit, the piano, an inception, a miasma, an unexpected guest.

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A few things to think about. A usually refers to a type or class of nouns. A door. (any door anywhere)

The is about a specific type or class of noun. The door. (This door right here, only this one). Sometimes you want to be general, but sometimes you want to be specific. A is general, THE is specific. AN - an apple, an appliance - is general but can be specific. i.e., An apple is a fruit. (general applies to all apples). An apple rolled off the table (just one apple, a specific apple). Okay - I'll buy you a wig to replace the hair you pull out.  ~(;D)-

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8 PARTS OF SPEECH: The terms that name the words in a sentence that desribe and explain and name their function, the way they work, in a sentence, or a phrase, or a clause.

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They are:

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Conjunctions, Adverbs, Nouns, Pronouns, Interjections, Adjectives, Prepositions, and Verbs. Learn these definitions and you have English nailed! Kinda. Well, not really, but it is a great place to start since if a word is in a sentence it is one of these 8 parts of speech. (I Promise). Every ten years or so try to name them: like Santa's reindeer - you will miss one or two and have to look them up. Dancer, Prancer Donner Vixin Comet Cupid somebody or other and Blitzen. See. (Dasher) :D

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Learning tool: Write in the grammar term, i.e., ADVERB, in Google and read the proper definition. I will try to break down these more complex and accurate definitions, but looking them up is a good habit to build. Note: I had to look up the parts of speech for a refresher course. S'been a while.

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HERE ENDETH THE LESSON

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Lady A